Rursus Iterum
by Durandall
Summary: Ranma's training journey allowed him to meet people all over Japan, but there was one that meant more to him than most...   This is a crossover with Project:Ako
1. Rursus Iterum: Prologue

Rursus Iterum Intro

Rursus Iterum Intro

Disclaimer: Takahashi provided us with the paint, I'm simply a peasant with an easel.

A Ranma 1/2 alternate universe.

The rushing water all around him, the panic setting in -- which way was up? The frantic scrabbling of his seemingly too-small hands as they clawed against the water, desperately seeking purchase, and not finding it. Then a sudden soft, muddy impact against his side, as he met the bottom of the pool.

He righted himself instantly, pushing away from the muddy surface with all of his might, to where he could faintly see the bubbles rising to a faint point of brightness above him. The light slowly grew, becoming wider and wider... yet so far away. His lungs were burning with pain; the desire for oxygen seeming to drain at his strength at he frantically kicked and clawed towards the surface.

His vision began to dim, and his movements became weaker as the glimmering, waving top of the pool shimmered above him, out of his reach... out of his reach... He wasn't going to make it, he could feel his body spasm, unable to resist the need to breathe, and took a gasping breath, feeling the rush of swirling water crossing over his teeth, invading his lungs and --

***

He sat up, coughing, spitting out water and fighting off a strange sense of displacement. It was a dream... nothing more than a dream. It took his brain a few minutes to catch up, reminding him that he had been engaged to Akane about a week ago. And Jusenkyou... and earlier than that --

He sighed, guessing who had woken him. Shaking his head once, he tried to forget about the past, and focused on the present. He coughed a few more times, then croaked out, "Stupid, uncute tomboy..."

Looking up revealed Akane standing nearby with a partially amused and partially annoyed expression. And a bucket in one hand. Ranma glanced down to check, realizing that she was, in fact, changed into her cursed form. Akane snorted, slinging the bucket over her shoulder as she left the room. "Get ready for school, Ranma."

She groaned, climbing to her feet, and grumbling about the indignity of uncute tomboys. She knew in the back of her mind that it wasn't fair to blame Akane for the nightmare... but it always put her off to wake up from a dream like that. The only ones that were worse, were the dreams where Ranma made it to the top of the pool, and... she was there.

Shaking her head, she gathered a fresh set of Chinese clothing, and padded into the bathroom, knocking before she entered. She caught a flash of her reflection out of the corner of her eye, and froze, captivated by her mirror image.

_Her_ reflection. Ranma swallowed, feeling fresh tears well up, and suppressing them with effort. It wasn't fair... it was bad enough to turn into a girl, Ranma could have come to grips with that. But to turn into... into her... she slumped visibly, moving away from the mirror and its unkind reminder of a forgotten past. "Why..." she whispered to the quiet of the furo. "Why did you have to die? Why..."

She took a deep breath, releasing a single wracking sob. She couldn't let anyone see her like this; her reputation... she couldn't afford to let anyone see that the great Saotome Ranma was in emotional distress. But it was so hard to be strong, and Genma wasn't helping matters. She was only just getting over her, and Genma went and engaged her to another girl. "Why..."

But the furo held no answers.

***

Some weeks after that point found Ranma suffering the amused glances of the three Tendo sisters.

Nabiki smirked, blithely droning on, "Of course, if it had been your first kiss, it would have been a _tradgedy_."

Kasumi released a small giggle, seeing something in Ranma's demeanor that the others hadn't. "But certainly that wasn't the case, was it, Ranma?"

He said nothing, simply scowling and remembering...

*************

She looked at Ranma, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. "So..." she began slowly, a faint flush creeping up her cheeks. "Have you ever kissed a girl?"

The fifteen-year-old Ranma's face began to color, and he adopted a haughty expression. "'Course I have! I've kissed bunches of girls in my time. Why?"

She dithered a moment, pointing her index fingers together and flexing them nervously, too flushed to look directly at Ranma. In a quiet voice, she asked, "Would you kiss me?"

*************

Akane hid a smile of her own, seeing Ranma color, then storm off to the dojo. Turning back to her sisters, she asked, "I wonder what that was about?"

Nabiki shrugged, seemingly uninterested.

Akane shook her head, wondering, while Kasumi wore a worried expression, thinking that she had perhaps said too much.

In the dojo, Ranma muttered to himself, hunched in the center of the wooden floor. He sulked, "Feh! Laughingstock of the whole town... Nobody cares how I feel, just..." He trailed off, not wanting to think about his first kiss. And then there was Akane...

*************

The young Ranma swallowed nervously, then nodded, and slowly drew his face to hers. Their lips touched tentatively, a simple, sweet kiss, one that lingered on his mind even after he pulled away. He felt a vague sensation in the back of his head, as though he had blown a mental fuse. All he could manage to say was, "Woah..."

She giggled deliriously, throwing herself across his lap and snuggling into his embrace. He flushed, suddenly overwhelmed by the kawaii factor. Blushing profusely, she poked his nose, accusing, "That was your first kiss too, wasn't it?"

*************

A swat on the back of his head diverted his attention elsewhere, and he looked up to see Akane, first aid kit in hand. "Your back's wide open." She criticized. "You're completely off guard."

Ranma said nothing, simply peering at her out of the corner of his eyes, and curling in on himself.

Akane scowled at the lack of a reaction. "How long do you plan to pout?" She rolled her eyes, complaining, "And you call yourself a man!"

Growling, Ranma looked away. "If you think it's so funny... go ahead and laugh!"

Akane knelt in front of him, looking him straight in the eyes... and laughed. "Hah!"

Ranma sprang to his feet, furious, demanding, "What's so funny!?"

Akane turned serious, losing her demeanor of false cheer. "Was that really your first kiss?" she asked. It had better have been, or...

*************

She drew herself away slightly, eyes still sparking with joy. "Ranma," she began. "I don't think I ever want to kiss another boy aside from you... I think..."

Ranma swallowed, stunned by the adoration in her eyes, wishing he could find his tongue and say something for the situation, and cursing himself a fool for remaining silent.

Drawing an unsteady breath, the girl began again, "Ranma, I think I lo-"

"BOY!" the shout brought both teenagers to their feet, several meters apart while they frantically tried to look innocent. Genma stamped into the clearing, wearing a cross expression. "Boy," he grumbled, glowering between Ranma and the girl. "Come on, time for your sparring session."

*************

Ranma sank to the floor again, deflating, and saying nothing for a long moment. Akane began to dig through the first aid kit. Turning away to hide a slowly building blush, Ranma mumbled, "What difference does that make?"

Akane frowned, not finding as much gauze as she had hoped for. "Oh foo..." Turning her attention back to Ranma, she muttered, "It doesn't make any difference at all. But really..." She crawled over to a position where she could bandage Ranma, studying his face while carefully tending his wounds. She knew that she couldn't cook, but taking care of Ranma's cuts and scrapes was something she could handle easily enough. She admonished, "... to let yourself be kissed so easily!" She frowned for a moment, concentrating on applying another bandage. "... you haven't trained enough." 

He frowned, saying nothing and mulling it over while Akane prepared another bandage, her speech continuing unabated, "You talk a good match, but you leave yourself open a lot."

Ranma blinked at that, and shifted his position swiftly. Before she was completely aware of what was going on, Akane found herself laying across Ranma's lap, his face close to hers while he peered down at her. He stared into her eyes, unblinking as he asked, "Who are you to talk?"

She stared up at him with wide eyes, wondering if he would actually kiss her. Akane began to close her eyes the slightest bit, to encourage Ranma... but found herself abruptly sitting on the floor while Ranma made warding gestures from halfway across the dojo.

Sputtering, he explained, "D-don't get the wrong idea!" Even had he wanted to, he doubted he could easily forget what he had once, and move on. Not that soon. But... maybe...

From the sidelines, the assembled Tendo family plus panda watched the exchange intently.

*************

Genma frowned, studying Ranma out of the corner of his eyes. There was no way he was going to allow his idiot son to ruin the engagement he had planned even before the boy was born. He would just need to find a way to make sure that Ranma would forget about her... 

And she would forget about him, too. Somehow. He was confident that he would come up with a plan. They would be going to China soon, and he didn't want the boy spending his time thinking about a girl that Genma wasn't going to let him marry. He would marry one of the Tendo daughters, one way or another.

*************

"It's not like I was gonna kiss you, or anything!" he rambled. Even if he could... would he still be thinking of her?

Blushing furiously, Akane attempted to adopt a haughty expression. "I-I... I know that. You don't have the guts..."

***

In a quiet bedroom, an alarm went off. A slender arm emerged from beneath a tangled heap of blankets, the questing hand fumbling for something to throw at the alarm clock for a moment, before the bedding fell away to reveal a rather disheveled and tired looking redhead.

She climbed out of the bed and swatted the clock until it stopped, then staggered towards the shower.

Once the first cold drops of water streamed across her, she bit her tongue to restrain a yelp, and raised the temperature.

Yep. It had been about a year and some odd months... since that day, the last day she had seen... She shoved the thought away. Today was going to be a good day. She was going to smile, and she was going to laugh, and damn it, she was going to put the past behind her.

Yet there was that nagging doubt, telling her that she'd _never_ be able to forget him, no matter how hard she tried.

Swallowing, she stared directly up at the showerhead, pouring steaming water across her face and hiding her tears. Unbidden, the memory returned to her. The memory of...

*************

Ranma's father shook his head sadly, intoning in a quiet voice, "I'm sorry, Megami-san. I'm afraid that... my son is... no longer with us." Genma sniffled loudly, weeping into a handkerchief.

The girl peered around the corner of the stairwell, into the living room, aghast at what she was hearing. Her father nodded stoically, saying, "Ah... well then, Saotome-san. That does change things. I'm very sorry to hear about Ranma... I'll have to tell..."

*************

She shook her head, scrubbing at her eyes, and washing away the tears forcefully. She was not going to cry today. She was going to go to outside, and she was going to have a good day, and... and... and...

Composing herself, she finished washing with quick and methodical precision. She would be going to a new school in a few months, and until then, had some free time. Maybe she could look up an old friend, or keep herself busy some other way... no sense letting the past drag her down again.

She dressed quickly, wearing the pair of bracers her parents gave her, trying not to think about the identical pair she had given Ranma before...

Yes, Megami Eiko was going to try and have a good day today.

----------

Ho-hum.

Title is now something vague and obscure in Latin: Return a second time.

Regardless, I still need C&C on this.


	2. Stones on the Precipice

Rursus Iterum Chapter One

Rursus Iterum Chapter One

Stones on the Precipice

Disclaimer: Takahashi provided us with the paint, property of her and Viz video, and additional colors borrowed from Soeishinsha Co., Ltd. and U.S. Manga Corps., this time around. I'm simply a peasant with an easel.

Notes: Something of an alt for both, with changes becoming evident as appropriate. Assume that Ranma is as canon, with the exception of his memories, and keep in mind that the events in Project: A-ko part one have not yet happened (with the exception of Shiko arriving, which happened about 16 years ago). And a little tweaking to move the Eiko timeline back about thirty years to be even with Ranma's. The intro was just the setup -- the actual divergence for Ranma takes place in volume 11. So here it is!

"Okay, Megami-san, smile for the camera!" 

Eiko blinked, smiling brightly at the photographer. 

"Great!" he enthused, snapping a few quick shots of her and her parents. "I think we'll use the picture of you and your family for the article." He lowered the camera and began fiddling with it and nodding absently, while Eiko's parents traded a concerned glance.

Eiko shrugged it off, glancing around the grassy lawn surrounding the civic center. "Don't worry, Mom," she said. "If they don't use our picture, I'm not worried. There's lots of other families moving to Graviton City with us, right?" As she watched, another family group that had gathered on the lawn to listen to the press releases about the new city began to drift away, undoubtedly towards their home.

Her mother nodded, relaxing slightly and adjusting her spectacles. Of course, her parents had decided to move to Graviton City some time ago. They just hadn't gotten around to moving, yet. "That's true, dear... Oh, isn't that your friend, Shiko?"

The redhead smiled slightly at that, looking over to where her friend was jumping up and down excitedly, generally making a nuisance of herself. Exasperated, the photographer snapped a few shots of the blonde girl, taking advantage and running away while Shiko came skipping back towards Eiko. Shiko had come from nearby Graviton City herself, originally, so it wasn't a big deal to be moving back.

Eiko turned to look at her father for a moment, blinking as his glasses glinted in the sunlight, momentarily blinding her. "Yeah, that's her. Hey, Dad?"

He blinked, turning to look at his daughter in surprise. "Yes, dear?" They had lived in Atsuga, which was something of a staging area for the construction of Graviton City, before they had moved to Sasebo for her father's work.

Eiko glanced back at the quickly approaching Shiko. "Ah... It's nothing." It had been a long time since she had seriously thought about Ranma, and she was leaving Sasebo... and, perhaps, the memories of Ranma behind... With Shiko around, it was always easier to have fun and let herself relax. Maybe the old wounds were healing after all...

***

Ranma stood in the living room of the Tendo house, trying to restrain his anger. He had to defeat Happosai; the only cure for the weakness moxibustion was the chart that Happosai had stolen all those years ago.

The pigtailed martial artist took a deep breath, attempting to regain his self-control, as his eyes wildly searched for something to calm him. Happosai, sorting through his boxes of old possessions, and chatting with Kasumi idly. Kasumi, asking the old man if he had anything that he wanted to burn. And there, on the table, Mr. Tendo's discarded newspaper from earlier that morning.

Taking another breath, he focused on the paper, collecting himself, preparing to -- Eiko.

He staggered forward a half step, stunned by the picture. No! It's not Eiko, it's a picture of you, you fool! he screamed to himself. It must be you! Pay attention to the old man! Ignore that! Your strength is the most valuable thing you have, and you _have_ to get it back!

But he couldn't tear his eyes away from the black-and-white picture of the girl on the page of newsprint in front of him. And it wasn't his girl-side, it was _her_. It was Eiko, because Ranma knew that he had never posed with her parents in cursed form. He hadn't even _been_ cursed when he knew her.

Happosai's voice shattered his trance. "Well, if I don't even remember..." the old man mumbled, folding a piece of paper into an airplane. "... I must not need it." So saying, the grizzled master of the Anything Goes school tossed the paper airplane towards the small fire that Kasumi was tending in the backyard.

Galvanized, Ranma leapt after it, his mind carefully recording what he had seen of the newspaper before he moved into action and storing it for later consideration. He bounced off the old man's head, eliciting a grumble, and snatched the folded chart out of the air, unable to hold in a cry of joy at his success. "Ha! I got it!"

Happosai blinked, raising an eyebrow and frowning, from his position across the fire. "Got what?"

Ranma unfolded the paper carefully, making doubly sure it was the moxibustion chart before he shook his head, turning away. "Nothing important, old man."

Not fooled by Ranma's attempt to cover up his find, the old man leapt, deftly flinging Ranma into a nearby tree with his pipe, and taking the chart. "Oh ho!" he exclaimed, looking it over again. "This is the chart..." he trailed off, eyeing the boy in front of him speculatively. "So... you want this, eh? Okay, boy. Fight me seriously this time. Let's go!"

Ranma seethed, furious at himself for making such a mistake, and growled, "I'll give you everything I got, you old lecher!" Taking an offensive stance, Ranma scowled in determination. He was going to give this fight his _all_.

Happosai narrowed his eyes, and gave a tight-lipped smiled. "So be it..."

Ukyou and Akane rushed onto the scene, fresh from the temple where they had learned of the chart in the first place. They had arrived in time to hear the last exchange. Trading a nervous glance while Kasumi stood behind them looking concerned, Akane exclaimed, "Poor, weak Ranma doesn't stand a chance!"

The okonomiyaki chef at her side grumbled, "Not much for fairness, is he?"

And the fight was on.

Ranma led in with a quick jab towards Happosai's chest, following it with a trio of lightning fast punches towards the old man's face, and complimenting that with a quick side kick to the his legs. The kick wouldn't do much but throw the old man off balance, but it would give him time to prepare another attack if --

The old man stood there, unblinking, as all of Ranma's blows merely nudged him ineffectually. Finally responding, the old man grinned, and whacked Ranma over the head with a lazy overhand blow, knocking him to the ground with a single swing of the pipe.

The boy staggered to his knees, not willing to give up, and the old man knocked him down again, raining blows of his own, which Ranma was powerless to block or deflect.

White-hot points of pain blossomed all over Ranma's body, as the perverted master continued to beat him, while Ranma's own defenses were easily shoved aside. Finally his body gave out, and he collapsed to the ground in a bruised heap.

The old man nonchalantly walked to stand next to the fire, while Ranma weakly pushed himself off the ground. "Not... gonna give up," he wheezed, his bruised ribs giving him aching pains.

The girls behind him took a half-step back, stunned and frightened of his tenacity. "I ain't..." he gasped, rising to a kneeling position. He froze, abruptly staring at the old man with a face that bore mingled worry and anger.

What could he do? The old man had him beaten, plain and simple. There was no way Ranma could beat him like this, unless... Smiling grimly, he climbed to his feet laboriously, his metabolism already working on restoring his body, and retrieved a bucket of water. All he had to do was... was...

He froze, staring at the bucket in his hands, and suddenly remembering the newspaper he had seen on the table. His eyes tracked across the yard, seeing the paper still there, missed by Kasumi. The three girls in the backyard stared at him expectantly.

Could he do it? Could he splash himself, turn in to her and use her body to distract the old man? It was bad enough and disrespectful when he had thought that she was dead, but to do it when she was alive? What if someone got pictures of him in his girl form, and they somehow got back to her?

Happosai snorted, dangling the paper over the fire. "All you have to do is spend a night in my arms, my lovely little Ranma-chan!"

The quiet, hidden doubts that he had suppressed before attempting to grab the chart returned full force, and he dropped the bucket, staring at the ground and falling to his knees in dismay. In a hoarse voice he whispered, "I lost. I... lost..."

Happosai smiled bemusedly. "Nonsense, boy! I'll give it to you if you just splash yourself, and let me..." he trailed off, as Ranma shook his head.

"No..." the boy rasped. He couldn't. Not even for that. "I can't... Anything else, but..."

Ukyou fought back a smile. There was no way Akane would accept Ranma now, since he was too weak to inherit the dojo -- she was sure to get him!

The youngest Tendo raised a hand to her mouth worriedly, unsure of what to do or say -- and confused as to why Ranma had given up when it looked like he had had a plan.

Unnoticed by the two still capable martial artists, Happosai dropped the moxibustion chart into the fire. There was a sudden loud 'crack!' and a flash of bright red, followed by an intense wind, and the paper was gone. Ranma's face bore a shocked expression, as he reached a hand out towards the fire -- but it was too late. Too late. "No..." he whispered hoarsely. "No..."

The girls snapped their heads around to look, all of them surprised as Happosai frowned at the fire, shrugged, and walked away. Ukyou spared a moment to look at Ranma, concern etched on her face. "Ranchan..." she breathed, pained to see him so distraught. She regained her presence of mind, and drew her battle spatula, glaring at Happosai intently.

Akane snarled, saying nothing and rolling up her sleeves. Happosai had only enough time to blink in surprise before they reached him.

By the time Ukyou and Akane had regained the presence of mind to stop beating Happosai into a thin paste, Ranma was already gone.

***

Ranma strolled the streets of Nerima, too dejected to even walk on the fence. A casual observer would have noted that his head was bowed and that his pigtail drooped. His normally upright posture was replaced with a slumped and defeated demeanor. He was the very picture of dejection. He couldn't very well have tried to use his girl side's appearances. If it were _his_ body, there wouldn't have been a problem and he could have, but... it wasn't his body. It was Eiko's. And... there was the other very obvious problem that he needed to see Eiko again.

He changed direction, wandering aimlessly.

Why did he need to see Eiko? He could just stay... somehow... There might be another way to remove the moxibustion, but... but... Frowning, he raised his hands, and stared at them, coming to a sudden halt on the side of the road. There had to be some kind of cure somewhere... and he'd find it. And Eiko.

His strength, he could feel it inside him, like his entire body was tensed, constantly ready to lash out with his full power. He could _feel_ it, just below his reach, and he was unable to touch it. But... Shouting, he unleashed a 'kiyah!' and smashed his fist into a nearby wall as forcefully as he could.

The air cracked around his fist with the speed of his punch, the force and the power easily enough to shatter the stone wall -- and stopped suddenly, as his body spontaneously worked against him. It softened his blow and blunted his ki so that his fist took the brunt of the blow.

He screwed his eyes shut, as pain shot through his fist; unwilling to look, or move his hand. The strike had hurt his hand, and his arms ached with the involuntary muscle force it had taken to fight against him. It hurt his shoulder, and more than that, the failure to break the stone wounded him deeply where it counted. His pride.

Ranma felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up wearily, fighting back the moisture building at the corners of his eyes. "What?" he snapped, not recognizing the figure through the distortion of unshed tears.

He heard a soft sigh. "Ranma... are you alright?"

The pigtailed boy nodded, looking at his fist as it rested against the wall, the hand already throbbing with dull pain. Dropping his hand from the surface before him, he wiped at his eyes briefly with his free hand before reassessing his benefactor. Comprehension dawned on him suddenly. "Oh... Hey, Tofu-sensei. What's up?"

The doctor shrugged, unusually somber. "Not much," he said after a short, uncomfortable pause. "Why don't you come in and have some tea? You should probably have that hand looked at, anyway."

Blinking, Ranma looked at his hand, still trying to ignore the pain. The entire ridge of his knuckles were going to be one massive bruise, and he had managed to split open two of them in his futile attempt at using force.

Glancing at the wall revealed only a small splatter of blood, and no damage to the stone. Dropping his hands to his sides listlessly, he nodded. "Yeah... I guess... what are you doing here, anyway?"

Tofu shook his head, leading Ranma around the wall. "It's my clinic," he said with a slight shrug. "I heard you shout and came out to see what was going on... I guess this means that you weren't able to find the cure?"

The martial artist drooped visibly, seeming even more depressed. "Yeah... that too," he whispered.

Remaining quiet until Ranma entered the clinic and was seated, holding a cup of tea in his left hand, the doctor asked, "What do you mean, 'that too'?" While waiting for an answer, he retrieved some disinfectant and a bandage, deftly cleaning the small gouges of torn skin, and quickly wrapping the boy's knuckles in gauze.

Sighing, Ranma glanced around the clinic, noting an assortment of mostly empty cardboard boxes scattered about. "You... I dunno... maybe you can help me." The doctor looked up questioningly, taking a seat across from Ranma and dropping the bandaged hand. The boy rubbed the bandage a few times, before managing a thin smile. "Thanks, Tofu-sensei... um... I got this problem..." he trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

Tofu shrugged, asking, "So... what's the problem?"

Ranma stared moodily at one of the cardboard boxes, taking a sip from his teacup. "Um... I knew this girl..."

Tofu smirked, relaxing slightly. "Ah. Girl trouble."

The martial artist scowled, shaking his head. "No, it's not like that. You see... I knew this girl before I met Akane..." he trailed off again, struggling to explain what he hadn't talked to anyone about, anyone at all, in more than a year. He took a slow breath, sipping at his tea to calm himself. "I knew this girl before I met Akane... and we... I guess... we were kind of dating."

Adjusting his glasses, Tofu nodded, assuming a more somber expression. "Ah... you didn't part on good terms?"

The boy scowled, trembling with barely restrained anger. "Pops told me she died," he spat. He did not notice that he would have crushed his teacup had it not been for the strength sapping moxibustion. "But she didn't... and she... I have to find her..."

Tofu blinked at Ranma's admission, stunned. What kind of parent could do that to their child? He swallowed suddenly, feeling something in his stomach churn unpleasantly at just how much Ranma had already suffered under Genma's 'care.' Perhaps simply firing him after finding out about the neko-ken training wasn't enough. "Oh..." he said softly, wondering what he really _could_ to help Ranma, that wouldn't offend the young man's pride. "That's... that's horrible. I'm sorry."

Ranma nodded absently, digging into his shirt for the folded newspaper article he had stowed there earlier. "This paper says... says that she's moving to Graviton City, and... I think I gotta go find her. Because if Pops told me that she's dead, so she probably thinks I ran out on her, and... and..." He sighed, tracing a finger across the picture of her and her parents. Eiko's parents seemed to look at the camera nervously, while she was smiling at the camera radiantly. Even in black and white, it wasn't hard to imagine her moving to greet him, the smile she had just for him, even more sweet than the one recorded on paper before him...

He smiled back forlornly, tracing his finger lower, to the actual body of the article. "I might have thought it was just someone who looked like her," he said. "But I saw... I mean, she's got the same name in the article, and I think her father's name was 'Clark', so that matches." He looked up at Tofu, fierce determination burning in his eyes. "I'm gonna find her again, and figure out what's going on... I don't... I don't know what to do about my strength, though."

Tofu stared at Ranma for a long moment before sighing, drooping slightly, and matching Ranma's earlier demeanor. "I don't know, Ranma... But what are you going to do about... well... Akane?"

Ranma worked his jaw, his mouth opening and closing a few times, but no words emerging, before he groaned, "I... I don't know. I... I want to see Eiko... and if she... well, she's smiling in her picture, so she's probably over me. I guess... I just want to see her to apologize, and maybe say goodbye. I'll... I can't inherit the dojo until I get my strength back, so Akane doesn't matter right now anyway."

The doctor said nothing for a long moment, simply staring at the floor. He doubted Ranma truly wanted this other girl to be over him, but who was he to judge? Ranma squinted, but Tofu's eyes were concealed by glare from the light against his glasses, making his expression unreadable. "Well," the doctor said thoughtfully. "I... I'm going to be leaving Nerima... you probably noticed the boxes."

Ranma nodded, glancing at them again.

Sighing, the doctor grimaced, and rubbed at his temples. "Truth of the matter is that I don't make a lot of money here... And rent is a lot cheaper in newer cities than Tokyo."

Frowning, Ranma looked at the doctor, who had not yet raised his head. "So... you can't afford to keep the clinic?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"Well, I can afford it for another month or so, but... I don't get a lot of business, really..." He sighed. "And even though I do get business, I can't... I can't find it in my heart to charge as much as I'd need to in order to make ends meet for much longer."

Ranma set his empty teacup down, his frown deepening.

Tofu continued, unperturbed, "And... There's... there are other factors, too." Ranma winced, thinking of Kasumi. "So I'm packing up my things and moving them into storage for a few months, and... well, I figured I'd just wander around until I found a nice place to settle down that could use a chiropractor."

Ranma snorted, "Don't sell yourself short, Tofu-sensei. You're a pretty damn good doctor."

Tofu raised his head at that, and returned Ranma's own weak smile. "You think so?" he asked.

Rolling his eyes, Ranma nodded. "Of course. Well..." he trailed off, deciding Kasumi was a topic best not mentioned at the present. "Yeah, I really think so."

Tofu smiled, removing his glasses and cleaning them on the sleeves of his gi. "I guess... That's very kind of you, Ranma."

There was a moment of companionable silence between the two for a long moment before reality began to seep back in. "Anyway," Ranma said, shaking his head. "I guess... thanks, Tofu-sensei. It's good to talk with you. I... I should go back to the Tendos to get my stuff, and... And be going..."

Tofu coughed, frowning slightly again. "If you wish, Ranma... but..." Ranma raised an eyebrow inquisitively, as Tofu hedged uncertainly. The doctor sighed, "Ah, well. What I was thinking was... rent in Graviton City is probably fairly cheap, since it's a very new city, and... I was thinking of going there."

Ranma blinked a few times, not sure he had heard that correctly. Collecting himself, he asked, "Huh?"

Tofu grinned, and scratched the back of his head. "I was thinking about it a little before, not very seriously... but walking is the cheapest way to travel, and traveling with a friend is always the best way to move around... maybe Graviton City won't be the place for me, but... I'd like to travel with you if that's where you're going." He shrugged, admitting, "And all things considered, you shouldn't be traveling alone."

The pigtailed martial artist stared, a slow grin forming on his face despite the admonishment that he would need protection. "That... that would be great, I don't think I even want to look at my pop right now, and... Hell, I can probably get rid of this moxibustion faster with you along... so that sounds great, Tofu-sensei!"

Extending his hand for a western style handshake, the older martial artist resisted the urge to laugh like he hadn't since his college days. "Okay. Partners?"

Ranma shook Tofu's hand heartily. As heartily as he could, given his body's refusal to use any real strength. Grinning idiotically, he nodded, saying, "Partners, Tofu-sensei. When do you want to leave?"

The doctor considered briefly, glancing around. "Well," he began thoughtfully. "If you help me pack everything into boxes... I can leave tomorrow morning. But it's 'Tofu,' not 'Tofu-sensei.'"

The boy nodded, grinning again. "Okay... Tofu. I'll help you as much as I can... there's the problem of dealing with things if they happen to be heavy..." he trailed off, expression darkening.

Clicking his tongue, Tofu said, "It shouldn't be a problem. Most of what I haven't packed is papers, and if they're heavy you can move small amounts of them really quickly, can't you?"

Ranma nodded quickly, and set to work under the doctor's instruction.

***

"Okay, Ranma. I think we're done. I'm going to call the storage people, and tell them they can let themselves in tomorrow morning. I expect you want to be gone before it gets to be too early?" The doctor looked at Ranma expectantly.

Ranma nodded quickly. "Yeah... I'll go to the Tendo's and... grab my stuff. You mind if I stay here tonight?"

The doctor shrugged, glancing around. "That would work for me, actually. Yeah, why don't you go ahead and do that? You'll be back soon, right?"

Ranma turned away, and stepped out of the door, slowing uncertainly after a moment. He drew to a halt, wincing, and turned around. "Um... I don't know if I can carry all my stuff..."

Tofu frowned to consider that. "Oh... that's a good point. I'll make the call and join you, once I'm done." The two blinked at each other, the doctor flushing slightly. "Right. Bad idea. I guess you'll just have to take a few trips to move all your stuff..." He scratched the back of his head nervously.

Ranma frowned, considering that, and nodded. "Um... I guess I'll only take what I can carry."

The doctor shook his head. "No, bring everything. What we don't take with us can be put into storage. I have an empty box or two."

The boy brightened at that. "Good idea, Tofu. I'll be back in a few minutes... a couple of times, I guess."

Smirking, Tofu closed the door and moved to the phone. "I haven't felt this good in a long time," he commented to himself. "A training trip is just the thing..." Trapping the phone between his shoulder and his ear awkwardly, he shuffled through the box of items he had chosen to take with him, his eyes lingering briefly on an old shiatsu manual. He dropped the phone in surprise, and picked up the book, considering. "Well now... That might work..."

Smiling to himself, he added the book to the stack of things he had decided to take with him, before picking up the phone again.

***

Genma considered his options briefly, and came to one conclusion. Ranma would have to be cured, somehow.

Maybe a harsh training regimen, or a journey to China for an ancient moxibustion expert, or even another wishing sword like the one that Kuno had found. There had to be some answer, and he was... he was... he was going to wonder why his son's possessions were all missing.

The man stared for a moment unhappily, wondering where the boy had gone. He had to have gone somewhere... but where? He crossed his arms over his chest to contemplate.

Grimacing, he gathered his own possessions together before slipping out. There were only a few places that Ranma could go. He was confident that he'd find Ranma quickly enough. And if Ranma ran away, Genma was a capable tracker... living for months on end in the trackless depths of China had proven that.

***

"Father! Come quick! Ranma and Saotome-san, they're--"

On his feet in an instant, Soun dashed upstairs, throwing open the door to the guest bedroom as though he had some hope that Kasumi was somehow wrong, already knowing what she was going to say. His eyes widened, seeing the empty room. "Gone!" he exclaimed, shocked.

Kasumi nervously drew in on herself, releasing a tremulous sigh, "They must have packed up and slipped out last night."

Nabiki nodded, frowning. "It was probably too awkward for them to stay..."

The eldest Tendo sister returned Nabiki's nod solemnly. "Yes, with Ranma being too weak to take over the dojo and all..."

Soun wept unashamedly, sobbing, "All my dreams!" Nabiki said nothing, simply closing her eyes and tightening her grip on her drink container. Trust her father to not take Akane's feelings into account. She frowned at that, wondering how Akane would react. Nabiki peered at Akane out of the corners of her eyes, curious. 

The youngest sister trembled with barely restrained emotion, and shook her head in defiance of the situation. "No..." she whispered. With more force in her voice, she added, "He wouldn't do that! He..." She cut off suddenly, remembering Ranma's expression as he stared at the fire where the chart had disappeared. Would he?

***

Two travelers wandered down a largely deserted road along a rice-paddy, nodding at the occasional farmer as they passed.

Tofu wore a good-natured smile, despite the fact that he was carrying all of his own equipment, and most of Ranma's. "It's good to be on the road again, isn't it?"

Ranma nodded, his eyes focused on a slim wooden pole he was carrying, practicing spinning it around in one hand, and catching it in the other. Grumbling, he slung the pole over one shoulder, annoyed that he could carry so little. "Yeah, actually... it is good. Thanks, Tofu. I just know that things are going to get better from here... which way you wanna go to get there?"

The doctor pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Hmm... well, Graviton City is in Hokkaido... we can either take the coast, or a more inland route... which would you prefer?"

Ranma hedged uncertainly for a moment before nodding. "Inland. Coast would probably be faster, but the sights are more interesting inland. Yeah..."

Tofu halted briefly, dropping his pack and removing a well-worn travel map from it. "Okay," he said, pretending not to notice as he dropped his shiatsu manual. "I'd have thought you'd be in a hurry, though. Let's look at our choices for routes."

Ranma wordlessly picked up the book, his eyes skimming across the title before turning to look at the map. Juggling the shiatsu manual in one hand absently, he replied, "Yeah... it would be faster, but there's more training grounds inland, and I'm more familiar with the area." He raised a finger to stab at the map, pausing to look down at the book he was idly tossing. Tofu watched a smile blossom on Ranma's face, as realization dawned on the boy. "Hey..." he said. "Do you think I could learn some of this?"

Tofu nodded approval. "Oh, yeah, that's simple stuff. You can learn that easily. I guess this means you aren't giving up the Anything Goes style?"

The pigtailed boy slumped. "Well... I'll take what I can get, Tofu... it's not like I _can_ do much." He shook his head abruptly. "I've never really given up. I just need to find a way to get my strength back, or something else I can do..." Shrugging, he added, "Besides, the school specializes in adapting. Just gonna have to do a lot more of that..."

Folding up the map for the moment, Tofu pointed to a nearby tree, easily ten meters away and twenty meters tall. "Do you think you can jump up onto that tree?"

Ranma blinked, and shook his head sadly, staring at the knotted pine tree. "Maybe before I got hit with the ultimate weakness-"

Tofu cut him off, shouting, "CAT!"

When Ranma came to his senses, the doctor was on the road, nineteen meters below him, collapsed to his knees on the ground with laughter. "Hey!" Ranma yelled. "What did you do that for!?"

Collecting himself slightly, Tofu explained, "Look! You just jumped up there, didn't you? The moxibustion doesn't make you weak -- it just affects how you use your strength. You can't carry a lot of weight, but you can move yourself easily, can't you?"

Ranma scowled, before he hopped down from the tree, blinking in surprise. "You're right!" he said, realization sinking in. "And I'm still tough -- I could stand to be hit just as much as I used to..." He trailed off, frowning. "But I can't block as well as I used to..."

Tofu waved a hand dismissively. "Details, Ranma. Details. I'm sure you can learn how to fight. But rather than simply search for a cure for the moxibustion, shouldn't you be looking for a way to cope?"

Ranma bowed his head, considering the man's words. After a moment, he nodded. "You're right. Until I can cure it, I should be looking for a way to work around it. And I'm guessing by the way you tossed this shiatsu book out for me, you've got a few ideas, don't you?"

Laughing slightly, Tofu nodded, moving over to lean against the tree, and setting his pack down. "You caught me; I do. Let's stop her for a quick lunch. We've got a few things we can talk about, and we still need to pick out the route we're going to use."

***

Akane picked at her bento halfheartedly, trying to ignore the part of her mind that was worried about Ranma. Someone stood before her, blocking the sunlight and casting a shadow across her. She looked up, frowning slightly. "Ukyou?"

The okonomiyaki chef nodded, looking around slowly. Crouching to bring herself closer to a level with the seated Akane, she said, "Hey, Akane. What's up with Ranchan? I haven't seen him around today."

Grumbling, Akane set her bento on the ground near her, tossing her chopsticks after it and crossing her arms over her chest. Finding her eyes suddenly moist, she raised her chin slightly. "He..." she began, before a sudden thickness in her voice cut off her explanations.

Ukyou blinked at that, confused. "What?" she asked, worry evident in her voice.

Akane glanced at the taller girl sharply, and snapped out, "I don't know! He's gone!"

The okonomiyaki chef was so stunned that her feet shot out from beneath her, depositing her from her crouching position to a sudden halt on her backside. "Ow..." she murmured, eyes glazing. "I... see... Well... See you around, Akane..." Shaking her head, Ukyou climbed to her feet again, and wandered away, frowning intently.

Akane sighed deeply, torn between worry and anger. Where was Ranma? Was he okay? And what did he think he was doing, leaving without saying goodbye, anyway?

She regained her feet wearily, trudging back to her class. "I know," she mumbled. "I'll visit with Tofu-sensei after class... He's always got good advice."

***

Cologne paced impatiently. Shampoo would be back in two weeks, but in the meantime, there was a worrisome claim from Mousse that the nearly blind hidden-weapons master had actually defeated Ranma in combat.

This worried her greatly, as she did not want Ranma to be anything less than a desirable mate for her great-granddaughter. She knew better than to expect Ranma to actually come to her for help if there was a problem; she had given him no reason to trust her.

But at the same time... It wouldn't hurt to encourage a little seed of trust. If he was in trouble, she could teach him a new technique, or help him some other way. Something to foster the boy's attention, and maybe to a small degree, respect. She nodded decisively, thinking, Right. I'll find out where the boy's gone off to, and after that, I'll find out what's going on.

She glanced out to the dining area, where Mousse was sullenly wiping down an empty table. "Mr. Part-Time!" she snapped.

His head whipped around quickly, and he glared at a nearby light fixture with undisguised malice. "What?" he responded, managing to soften his tone just enough to avoid the elder's cane.

Cologne rolled her eyes. "I'm closing the restaurant for a few days," she explained. "Keep the shop closed, and do whatever you feel like with your time." She waved a finger at him in warning. "I expect you to behave yourself, though."

With that, she pogoed up the stairs to gather a few things, leaving Mousse to boggle at the same light fixture in confusion.

***

Ukyou shadowed Akane carefully. She had thought that Ranma would realize that his best choice was to go to her, but there was no sign of him at the restaurant, and she was afraid that he might have done something... reckless.

So she shadowed the youngest Tendo, suspecting that Akane might have somehow hidden Ranma somewhere. Okay, she reasoned to herself. That's not too likely. But she might know more about what's really going on.

Akane perked up slightly after school let out, taking a slight detour from the route to the Tendo home, to visit a nearby clinic. Ukyou frowned at that. Was Ranma in trouble?

She hopped into the branches of a nearby tree to observe, noting a large truck and a pair of men moving boxes out of the clinic. She frowned, seeing Akane gape at the men, and lean against a nearby utility pole for support.

After a few minutes, one of the men took a last crate out of the building, and shut the door behind him. He said something in a quiet voice that Ukyou couldn't quite make out, to Akane, smiling as she murmured a response.

The two men finished packing the truck and it lurched to a start jerkily, the engine stalling once before the embarrassed driver went easier on the clutch. Akane watched it roll slowly out of sight, navigating the narrow and seldom used streets of the district before turning her attention back to the clinic.

Hesitantly, she stepped forward, her hand brushing aside the 'This building for rent! Call Bosabosa Kyoutaku for details!' sign, and testing the door. The movers had left it unlatched, and she opened it, stepping inside gingerly.

Heaving an agitated sigh, Ukyou dropped any pretences of being sneaky, and hopped down from the tree, trotting quickly across the once again quiet street to the clinic's entrance. She wasn't sure what was going on here, but it looked like Akane was just as much in the dark as she was.

The Tendo girl was staring around the empty interior of the building, seeming slightly dazed. Ukyou cleared her throat, and Akane's slack and confused expression shifted to annoyance as she spun to face the other girl, coming to rest in a defensive posture. "What are you doing here?" she demanded of the okonomiyaki chef.

Ukyou took a half-step back, raising her hands in a warding gesture. "Whoa," she said. "Calm down there, Akane. I was just going to ask you if you had found anything out about Ranchan yet."

The girl wilted visibly, dropping to a more relaxed stance and shrugging helplessly. "Nope... I don't know anything at all, and Tofu-sensei... apparently he left today. No forwarding address, or anything..." she trailed off miserably, staring at the floor.

Ukyou looked around, seeing that the clinic had been largely stripped bare. "I don't know... do you think his leaving had anything to do with Ranma?"

Akane lost some of her depression, devoting her attention to thinking about things clearly. "Well..." she said slowly. "Mr. Saotome lost his job with Tofu-sensei after the cat-fist training, but... I know that Tofu-sensei thinks highly of Ranma, but... Wait... you think he left with Ranma?"

Ukyou paled suddenly, and pointed to a discarded newspaper. "He might have..." she murmured.

Akane picked it up, her eyes widening in surprise. "It's Ranma!" she exclaimed, quickly scanning through the article. "Tofu must really _have_ left with Ranma! The article doesn't say anything about him, though... just some girl and her family moving to Graviton... City..." She slumped, letting the paper drift to the floor. "It's even circled in red ink... Oh... how the heck am I going to get to Hokkaido, anyway?"

Ukyou blinked at that, frowning thoughtfully. "Hm... looks like I'm going to have to be moving... Sorry, Akane. I have to get back to my shop and close up."

Akane did not mistake the finality of Ukyou's meaning of 'close.' She called out as Ukyou turned towards the door, "Wait!"

The okonomiyaki chef turned around for a minute, surprised. "Yeah?"

Licking her lips, Akane asked, "Are you going to chase after him?"

Ukyou gave a dazzling smile, one that she had been saving for Ranma, and responded, "You betcha!" Winking at Akane, the girl spun around again and disappeared out the door.

Akane frowned, studying the paper again. "Daddy's not going to like this... but if _she's_ going, I'm _certainly_ following him... someone has to keep him out of trouble..." She marched towards the doorway after collecting the scrap of newspaper, pausing as a sudden thought struck her. "Did Tofu-sensei follow him to keep him out of trouble?"

She shrugged to herself, jogging home and not noticing as a few black rose petals drifted across the seemingly deserted road behind her.

***

Scratching his scalp in irritation, Rounoutou Sohai pushed back his straw hat, allowing a little more light to spill across the photographs before him. He shook his head, blinked to clear his eyes and brushed an unruly clump of brown hair out of his eyes. "Yeah. Seen that girl there, the redhead. She was with some guy, and they were talking about training or something. They looked a little roughed up. I heard there's some hooligans 'round the way back you and they all come up from, so they must have tangled together. Why? They relations of yours?"

Genma shook his head, taking back the pictures. "What did the man look like?" he asked, ignoring the farmer's question.

The farmer shook his head again, shrugging widely and scratching a tattered corner of his work clothes. "Don't remember. About so tall, dark hair. Had a pair of glasses too, I think. 'Bout all I can remember." After a moment, he added, "Dressed like us, not like the China girl, there."

Heaving a sigh of relief, Genma sketched a quick bow to the farmer, and trotted off down the road. Sohai grumbled as the man stomped his way down the road. "Not so much as a 'thank you.' Oh well." He turned back to walking the perimeter of the rice paddy, largely dismissing the incident.

***

Akane explained the situation to her father. "Ranma's gone to Hokkaido; I'm going after him."

Soun frowned, trying to maintain a level head. Crying wouldn't do anything, since it seemed to have a lot more impact on Ranma than it ever had on his daughters. "I see... how are you going to get there?"

Shrugging offhandedly, Akane sank to a seat across from her father, where he was idly fingering the shogi board. "I have some money saved up... I'll take the train. But... I'm going to find him. And find out what's going on. I'm sure I'll get this figured out, somehow."

The Tendo patriarch frowned unhappily, displeased with the prospect of his youngest daughter traveling so far away on her own. He objected quickly, "Akane! I can't let you go off on your own like that, it's too risky!"

Akane scowled, shaking her head. "Daddy, I'm going after him. He's going to some place called Graviton City... And I'm going to find out why he left."

Soun grimaced, knowing that his daughter was not in a mood to be argued with. "Akane..." he pleaded. "Who's going to take care of you when you're out traveling? What if something happens?"

A new voice made itself known. "I'll take care of her, Tendo-san."

Blinking, Soun turned to face the newcomer, leaning against the doorjamb. His eyes took in Ryouga's clothing, and the dirt of several days of hard travel. "Er..." he managed uneasily, remembering Ryouga's curse.

Akane took advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself. "Look, Daddy, Ryouga will come with me and help me find Ranma. What could possibly go wrong?"

Soun bit his tongue, nodding. "Very well..."

***

Cologne had devious ways of collecting information, and was not afraid to employ them.

Looking furtively down the street to check for anyone who might have observed her coming, she smiled slowly. Seeing no one to be wary of, she strolled forwards, checking the 'wa' of the house as she approached.

Everything was in balance. Good, she thought to herself. This should be easy. She paused for a moment, making sure that the bowls of ramen she was carrying were still intact, before she knocked on the door.

Kasumi answered a moment later, seeming completely unfazed by Amazon matriarch's arrival. "Hello! Can I help you?"

Cologne smiled pleasantly -- a mean feat, all things considered -- and nodded. "Certainly," she said in her most soothing and tranquil tone. Amazon information gathering technique! "I just thought it would be nice to stop by and have another chat with you. It's been so long since we've talked about all the children."

Never mind the fact that comparable to Cologne, Kasumi was still a child herself -- Cologne was setting her above them and asking to speak to her on the level. That had to count for a lot. Kasumi smiled brightly, gesturing the older woman inside. "Please, come in and have a seat. I'll make up some of that tea you left for us last time!"

Cologne nodded again and paced inside, setting the bowls of soup on the table while Kasumi padded noiselessly into the kitchen. Home-makers gossip technique! Kasumi thought to herself while carefully preparing the tea service. "It's been a long while since you've come by to chat," she called from the kitchen. "How is your great-granddaughter doing?"

The old woman, already lulled into thinking she had won, scrambled to the defensive, realizing that her opponent was more skilled than she had thought. 

It was going to be a long and vicious battle.

***

Winded, tired, and victorious, Cologne gathered up the ramen bowls, bowed politely to Kasumi, and bolted for the relative safety of her restaurant. The most unnerving thing about the situation was the nagging feeling that Kasumi had _let_ her win the information she had recovered.

Regardless, she thought to herself. Son-in-law has been affected by the ultimate weakness moxibustion. She scowled at that, taking to the rooftops without conscious thought. I'd better find him before he gives into despair or manages to get hurt... Hokkaido, hmm?

She lit upon the street before the Nekohanten, flowing inside and hopping up to an empty table as she paused to consider. Mousse was already gone, doubtless on some fool's errand or another, but... I should probably get to Graviton City... Now, to alert Shampoo while leaving Mousse in the dark.

Nodding decisively, she hopped off the table and behind to restaurant to her room, where she swiftly began to pack. I'll find you, Son-in-law. Heavens know that you're going to need help staying out of trouble as is.

Happosai was a problem to be dealt with later. Cologne was not pleased that the chart containing the cure for the moxibustion point was destroyed, but it just made finding and taking care of Ranma that much more urgent.

***

After two weeks of preparation, the young okonomiyaki chef was finally on her way, ready to be united with her fiance.

But... 

Ukyou frowned, eyeing her fellow passengers dubiously. The fact that one of them was a girl of about her own age, wearing a slightly too large 'Fairy Princess Minky Momo' T-shirt, holding a small pig wearing an interesting tiger-striped yellow bandanna as a collar, and muttering dire imprecations about a certain pigtailed martial artist was enough to irk her somewhat. Clearing her throat noisily, Ukyou managed to get Akane's attention. "So," she began. "Chasing after Ranchan?"

Akane blushed at that, and her face colored angrily. "Ukyou! I- I'm not looking after that... jerk," she said, her voice not carrying half the conviction she was searching for. "I'm just... Just want to make sure he's okay. That's all."

Ukyou shook her head slowly, eyeing the suspiciously happy piglet with distaste. She was firmly of the opinion that pork belonged on okonomiyaki, not laps. "So... coincidence that we end up on the same train, right?"

Akane nodded, sighing softly. "I wish Ryouga hadn't gotten lost before we left, though."

The okonomiyaki chef raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" She had stayed up too late the previous night mothballing the Ucchan's, on the off chance that she would be returning instead of moving to Graviton City. The end result was that she was too tired to capitalize on the situation and ask if Akane were dating Ryouga.

The youngest Tendo girl nodded, releasing another sigh. "What do you suppose Ranma's doing right now?"

Ukyou shrugged, confessing, "No clue. Hopefully thinking of me..." Of course... why didn't he try and talk to me before he disappeared?

She closed her eyes and settled back into her seat, not noticing as Akane frowned at her.

***

Tofu lay back against his bedroll, staring up at the dazzling array of stars as they glittered above him. The fire was banked, and he could sense Ranma lying on the opposite side of its ebbing glow. "Hey, Ranma?" he asked.

After a moment, Ranma responded, his voice tired, "Yeah, Tofu?"

"Just wondering... what are you going to do once you find this girl?"

"Eiko." Ranma's voice was more alert, though Tofu could sense that the boy hadn't moved. "I... I'm going to apologize for making her think that I left her. I don't know... I'll... I'll see after that."

Tofu sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing in the cool night air. "Okay. What are you going to do in Graviton City?"

"What do you mean?" Ranma's sounded confused.

"Well..." Tofu began hesitantly, still staring upwards. "What are you going to do for a place to live once you get there? What are you going to do for food and money?"

After a hesitant moment, Ranma responded. "I... can get a job as a waiter somewhere, I'm sure. I've done it before. Rent should be cheaper there than in Tokyo, and if it's not... I can camp somewhere until I've got enough money saved up."

As he noted that the boy had not included the doctor in his plans, Tofu's respect for Ranma increased a notch. He's really planning on doing something, regardless of whether or not anyone's going to help him... but I can't just abandon him. Even if he is fairly mature, he's just a boy.

He mulled that over for a long moment, considering. But should I take care of him on my own? It's a lot of responsibility for someone who can barely survive in Tokyo as it is, and I'm not even sure I _want_ to settle in Graviton City... He thought about that, as a realization struck him. And does he really _want_ my help?

Frowning, he pondered for a long while before finally lapsing into restfulness.

***

Genma leaned against the railing on the upper deck of the ferry as it passed towards Hokkaido. The boy has to be near, he thought. I know I'm getting closer.

On the deck immediately beneath him, concealed by a hanging life-raft, Akane drummed her fingers against another railing, looking towards Hokkaido in the distance, as it ever so slowly drew nearer. Ranma... I'll find you...

Behind her, leaning against the wall of the passenger compartments unconcernedly, Ukyou plotted. First things first. Since Akane's coming, too... I have to claim Ranchan as soon as I see him. She nodded to herself, smiling slightly and firming her resolve. Soon as I see him, I'll let him know who really loves him.

Further down the deck, unbeknownst to either of them, Ryouga watched Akane raptly, noting the way the sea breeze ruffled her hair, and the sunlight reflecting off of the sea gave her an almost unearthly beauty. He stepped forward hesitantly, bolstering his courage. I'm going to tell her. Ranma doesn't have a chance now that he's abandoned her, and he's too weak to inherit the dojo anyway. I'm going to say it. He took another step towards the girls, opened his mouth, and for once, the words came without any trouble, "Bweee!"

The two girls turned to look, while P-chan could only look stupefied. Akane rolled her eyes, and picked up Ryouga's sea-soaked clothing, sighing again as she stooped to grab up the piglet himself. "Honestly," she grumbled. "You'd think that P-chan would know better than to drag Ryouga's clothes out here all the time."

Ukyou frowned at that, shrugging. "Maybe. You seem to like the guy, right?"

While the two girls talked, another observed the approaching landmass from the opposite side of the ship, contemplating her own future. My dearest Ranma-sama will have to realize that only I am loyal enough to follow him this far. After that, he will take me away to live in wedded bliss...

And below all of them, in the ballast compartment, an older man snickered to his young friend, "You were right Ranma, this is kind of fun."

The boy crouching near him in the darkness snorted, "Just 'cause we can swim to China doesn't mean that we have to do it again. It's not as fast this way, but it's really tiring."

Tofu blinked at that. "Not as fast? We?"

"Sure!" Ranma chirped. "Me and Pops got from Jusenkyou to Nerima in only two weeks."

The doctor reeled, stunned. He had known that Ranma was capable of some impressive things before, but... "Wow..."

And at the very top of the ship, seated comfortably just below the radar, an old woman frowned. I sense that something very odd is happening here...

***

Ranma carefully modulated his ki and his focus, mimicking the doctor's 'you don't need to notice me' trick. Tofu would have nodded in approval, had he not been so busy not being important. The two stood near each other in the press of passengers waiting to disembark, too wrapped up in their own unimportance to notice the trio of teenagers that were likewise not noticing them.

There was no practical reason to be using the trick beyond the fact that they didn't have tickets, but that was as good a reason as any.

Cologne slipped out above them, bounding off a mooring line and off to the docks without being seen. At the same time, she was vaguely aware that someone was behind her, and hiding. Still, she didn't have time to worry about that, as she needed to take the train from Tomokomai towards Atsuga, and there, Graviton City.

Once clear of the stream of passengers, Ranma dropped the trick, sensing a headache forming. Tofu had shadowed him, and the older man smirked. "Good job, Ranma... Didn't think you'd be able to pick it up that fast."

Ranma grinned cockily, boasting, "I can learn darn near anything I set my mind to, Tofu. Tell ya what, though. As much as I'd like to hurry, let's find some place to pick up something to eat 'fore we go. It's probably gonna be cheaper than getting food on the train."

Tofu nodded, pulling a schedule out of his pocket and examining it. "Right... we've got about an hour and twenty minutes before the train we want to take, since the next one leaves in... ten minutes, and it'll probably take us longer to find something decent."

Frowning slightly, Ranma nodded, already sniffing the air for something to pique his interest.

***

Ukyou grumbled, finally giving up. "Look, much as I'd like to help you two out, I've got to take the next train. I'll see you later, but the next train's not for more than another hour, so you'd better hurry."

Akane grumbled, hiding her glower towards Ryouga. "We'd be at the train station much faster if you didn't keep getting lost."

Flushing and realizing that this, at least, was not something he could blame Ranma for, Ryouga bowed his head. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Akane shook her head and turned away, trotting after the retreating form of Ukyou as she moved towards the train station, passing a small yattai where a pair of traveling martial artists on their way to Graviton City patiently waited for their meals.

***

Forty minutes later, after Ranma had generously dipped into his own meager savings to pay for the both of them, "The least I can do after all you've done for me," the younger martial artist had insisted, Tofu patted his stomach contentedly.

Turning towards Ranma as he leisurely strolled in the direction of the train station, Tofu asked, "So... you still have enough for the train?"

Ranma waved a hand dismissively, explaining, "I do... barely. But that's not a big deal. See... Pops would steal or sneak from pretty much anyone. I don't like to do that at all, but if I gotta do it, I'll make sure it hurts as few people as possible."

Tofu nodded, a glimmering of understanding forming. "So... you're not hurting anyone by sneaking onto a ferry like the one we used, but you might hurt someone by stealing from their personal yattai?"

Ranma fidgeted for a moment, his cocky demeanor failing him. "Well..." he began. "It's... it's a karma thing, you know? And when we were on a ship, normally I try and find a way to help out... it's harder now that I don't have my strength, but..." he trailed off, frowning.

The doctor smirked. "I think I understand, though. It's wrong, but if you have to do wrong, make it the smallest wrong that you can?"

Ranma deflated at that, muttering, "Yeah... but it's still wrong."

Tofu patted Ranma on the shoulder companionably. "I left some money in the suggestion box on board the ship anyway."

Coloring brightly, Ranma scratched at the back of his head. "Oh," he said in a small voice.

Waving a hand dismissively, Tofu turned towards the train. "I think of it as training. And it's kind of fun. So, where's the ballast compartment on the train?"

Ranma regained some of his excitement. "Well, it's more dangerous than the ship, but it's pretty fun, if you're brave."

"How's that work?" Tofu asked, a small knot of worry forming in his gut.

Ranma's cocky grin resurfaced, giving the doctor cause to worry about the odds of keeping his lunch down. "We jump on the roof as it's leaving."

Tofu swallowed nervously. "Oh," he said, adopting the small voice Ranma had used earlier. "I thought that might be it."

***

Eiko groaned, settling into another hot shower. A bath would have been nice, but for whatever reason, her parents thought that showers were better.

Grumbling to herself, she reflected on the latest indignity of her life -- something called the 'spinner machine.' The stupid machine had transformed, but the poor girl who was piloting it couldn't reach any of the controls! It was ridiculous, and Eiko let her feelings show by disabling it with a single sweep-kick, knocking the contraption down and _still_ managing to show up to class late.

Why couldn't Biiko just leave her alone?

It was annoying enough when Biiko finally noticed that someone had managed to teach her skill to compliment her strength, but that was just opening old wounds, and hadn't put her anymore in the mood to deal with the nasty-tempered girl.

She sighed, trying to lose herself in a moment of warmth and happiness; to forget. Again.

Her hands tightened into fists, and she schooled herself to calmness. Don't overreact, Eiko. You don't have your bracers on. Calm. Be calm. It's okay...

Once more she thought about trying to talk about it with her mother, but again, she pushed the thought away. Her mother had some odd ideas about relationships.

Turning off the shower with exaggerated care, she stepped out and began toweling herself off. I have a bad feeling that something even worse is going to happen tomorrow. I just know it.

----

Authors notes:

Pre-reader draft completed 03/20/01

Revised on 03/23/01

Polishing/revision on 03/27/01

Thanks to Corwin for pre-reading for me, and we'll see where we go from here...

Skip-able details: Unimportant stuff that provides some extra info. The majority of the stuff is actually folded into the fic, but if you're curious, I've placed Graviton City on Hokkaido, a few miles west roughly west of Atsuga. Actually that would be in the sea... northwest, in that case. For those of you who aren't familiar with Japanese geography, Tokyo's on the south side of the middle of the main island, and Hokkaido's the next really big island to the northeast. Sasebo's a middling to large city on the southwest side of Honshu. Honshu being the big island. They never explored it in the manga, but that seemed like a good place for Ranma and Genma to swim to China from. This is only important because Eiko happens to live in Sasebo, and Shiko lives... well... wherever Eiko is, if she can help it. 

Enough nattering. I'd just like to take a moment to curse whatever gods saw fit to drive me to strive for accuracy in a crossover between a parody and a comedy. Okay. That's enough out of me.


	3. Breaking Free and Falling Fast

Rursus Iterum Chapter Two

Breaking Free and Falling Fast

Disclaimer: Takahashi provided us with the paint, property of her and Viz video, and additional colors borrowed from Soeishinsha Co., Ltd. and U.S. Manga Corps., this time around. I'm simply a peasant with an easel.

Note: This chapter brought to you by 32 hours of sleep deprivation and a 24pack of Pepsi.

The seven o'clock train from Tomokomai pulled into Graviton City station at four minutes to six in the evening, sliding to a halt with a subdued 'whush' instead of the standard shrieking of metal sliding across metal. The train, much like everything else in Graviton City, was a symbol of the advanced technology that the area had produced in its four and-a-half years of bustling life. The magnetic levitation allowed for cheaper, more efficient transportation, with less pollution, as well as being quieter, and the people along the coast had welcomed the advancements of the line to their own cities.

Once it had come to a rest, the doors on the side of the train opened, disgorging their loads of passengers onto the platform.

Ryouga fought through the crowds of salarymen and assorted other travelers, clearing a path for Akane and Ukyou. The crowd ended abruptly at the edge of the platform, a wide cement stairway dotted with stragglers leading down to the street.

The lost boy turned around quickly, making sure that he hadn't lost Akane and Ukyou, finding himself more than a bit surprised that he had actually managed the feat. 

Akane glanced towards the darkening evening sky for an instant, before frowning. "Well, let's get to a hostel," she called out, producing a brochure from a pocket. "This one's supposed to be close by."

Ukyo's gaze darted over to Akane, scanning the paper briefly before she nodded her approval. "I'll stick with you for a bit, Akane." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Unless you want some time alone with Ryouga?"

The youngest Tendo gave Ukyou a sidelong glance, her frown deepening for a moment before disappearing. "No... but let's hurry before Ryouga manages to get lost."

Wincing, Ryouga held his tongue, following the two girls away from the station.

Bouncing over the heads of the lingering remnants of the initial crowd, Cologne narrowed her eyes, sensing something oddly familiar. Shaking her head to dismiss it, she turned her attention towards finding a place to sleep for the night. Enough time to investigate minor details later.

***

On the next train, two figures clung to the rooftop of the speeding car, nearly a mile away from the station. Ranma had discovered that he could easily maintain a firm grip despite the weakness moxibustion.

Teeth rattling from a lurid cocktail of fear, adrenaline, cold, and the shaking of the train, Tofu shouted, "How do we get off?"

Ranma grinned widely, his own teeth chattering slightly. "Easy. See that light?" he yelled back.

Peering forward, Tofu noted a light on the horizon. Not wanting to waste his breath for a moment, he nodded, noting uncomfortably how his hands were beginning to cramp up.

The pigtailed boy next to him pointed ahead, and Tofu again wished that he hadn't stowed his glassed before the trip began. But there was also substantial risk of losing them, had he worn them on the roof of the train. Ranma took a deep breath and leaned closer to Tofu, sliding a few inches across the roof, closer to the doctor. Roaring to be heard over the keening of the wind, he shouted, "That means it's time! We jump off here!"

Tofu's eyes widened, and his shock was so great that he lost his grip for a moment before scrambling frantically to regain it. Shaking his head at Ranma, he mouthed, "What!?"

Ranma's eyes gleamed with a faint, ominous light. Simply a reflection of the moonlight, Tofu hoped. "We jump!"

His hope died a slow and painful death as Ranma rolled off towards the side of the train, and vaulted suddenly from the very edge, moments before he fell free. Tofu's heart caught, as Ranma's form cleared the envelope of sucking air that could have meant his death, and disappeared into the darkness to the side of the tracks.

Swallowing nervously, the doctor tried to ignore an accusing voice in the back of his head that pointed out that he _had_ wanted a return to the excitement of his college days. He muttered an expletive, and slid to the edge of the train quickly, not wanting any more distance to pass between himself and Ranma than was necessary. Gripping onto the lip at the edge of the roof, he heaved himself over, placing both feet against the side of the train car, and kicked out as fiercely as he could.

For a single, breathless moment, it seemed like the dragging pocket of rushing wind would pull him down... but he was clear, soaring for that lingering instant before realization set in.

He had just jumped from a moving train, and couldn't see what he was jumping into. 

"Oh, _CRAP_!"

***

Ranma swiftly curled himself into a ball, and wrapped his arms over his head, ready to roll with the fall.

He had done this enough times with his father, though Genma usually waited until they were closer to a train station to jump. But Ranma wasn't fond of rolling across gravel, when something less abrasive presented itself, and didn't mind a bit longer walk in exchange.

Clenching his eyes shut, and concentrating on maintaining his form as spherical as possible, his entire world becoming a sickeningly spinning jumble, as he felt a nearly perfectly flat surface beneath him/above him/to his side. He choked, unable to breathe until he stopped sliding across the surface, and began to sink into it, where it promptly grabbed a leg, and threw him forcefully upwards in a vaulting arc.

Opening her eyes, and ignoring the traitorous signals, Ranma observed that the surface she had been rolling across was water, which explained the gender change. Uh-oh, must have been moving faster than I thought, she noted, aligning her body to land feet first.

Ahead of her, she could see fairly clearly the flailing form of Dr. Tofu as he hurtled downwards, towards the flooded rice-paddy. Ranma heard his shout ring out before he expertly flipped himself, allowing the pack to take the brunt of the impact before spraying up a gigantic column of water.

Sighing in relief, Ranma landed roughly, tumbling to roll to a sitting position near Tofu, both of them sitting in the frigid water dazedly.

Tofu slowly turned to look at Ranma, his eyes seeming unfocused. "Tell you what," he said, voice wavering. "Next time, I'll pay for the train tickets."

Ranma giggled, still dizzy herself, "Yeah, that's what Pop always said. But wasn't that fun?"

"Oh... my best friend is a psychotic maniac with suicidal tendencies!" wailed Tofu, still trying to recover his equilibrium.

Standing abruptly, the redhead said, "Hey, you did it too. We could have waited until the end of the line, but it's not nearly as much fun. Let's find someplace dry, and set up camp. Unless you want to stay here?"

Groaning, The doctor managed to climb to his feet, staring at Ranma with wide eyes. "Your father made you do that before?"

Ranma nodded absently, already picking his way towards the edge of the flooded rice-paddy. "Yeah... hurt when I landed badly, too. You learn that part really quick, though! Landing right, I mean."

Tofu halted, gaping at Ranma. The redhead turned to face Tofu, confused. "What? Something I said?"

The man pointed at Ranma unsteadily, saying, "You've fallen badly from things like that, and lived?"

Looking uncomfortable, Ranma nodded, her visage darkening. "Yeah... once I rolled into a tree really hard... Pops insisted that it was good endurance training, since I didn't break nothing..."

Tofu heaved an unsteady sigh, mentally adding another counter to his list of reasons to try and help Ranma out. "Oh," he said in a quiet voice, wondering just how durable Ranma really was. The thought left him too distracted to admonish Ranma's slip into the sloppy speech normally affected when discussing Ranma's father. Shaking his head, he plaintively asked, "Why didn't we just wait until the train was at the station and get off when it had stopped?"

Ranma shrugged, slogging towards higher ground. "It's a lot harder to sneak past the security people."

Groaning again, Tofu mumbled, "I did teach you a trick to hide yourself."

Ranma winced, covering her embarrassment with a boast, "Ah, but where's the fun in that?"

***

Eiko's alarm went off. It was not that she was in the habit of paying it much heed -- quite the opposite, in fact. But this time, she did wake up. Perhaps as a side effect of having gone to bed earlier the night before... Perhaps due to a rather vivid and quickly fading dream about a lost love... And perhaps simply because the alarm was moved closer to her bed the night before.

So she sat up, running her fingers through her hair, which had become mussed while she tossed and turned the night before. Climbing out of her bed, she stumbled over to the alarm, and peered at it intently. The hands on the quickly shaking device indicated that it was three after five. Groaning, she turned the alarm off. How had it gotten set so early, anyway? Activating the radio without thinking about it, and not paying much attention to the disk jockey's voice as he droned on about something or another, she stepped towards her closet.

The disk jockey's narrative wasn't quite enthralling to her, because she was distracted in thinking of something else. A way to burn off some built-up tension. Assuming she could find her jogging clothes, she could run. That was always good. She fumbled through her closet until she found her jogging outfit, pleased to see it still in good condition.

Dressing slowly, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Eiko grabbed her keys and her change-purse, pocketing both before leaving the house.

"Well," she whispered to herself, stretching a little before she headed out to run. "At least it's not too bad a day, so far."

***

After waking, Cologne yawned leisurely, rising from her huddled position next to the chimney on the roof of one of the larger homes. Being small did have some advantages, one of them being that it was easier to find a place to sleep. 

Fully awake, she leapt away from her resting place. Moving from rooftop-to-rooftop quickly, she looked for any of the subtle hidden markers that would reveal any allies she might have had in the area. Amazons, or Amazon sympathizers could theoretically be anywhere... In practice it was fairly rare to find an ally this far outside of China, but she had some faint hope.

She remembered at least one fairly important Amazon from a sister village moving somewhere in the vicinity a mere twenty or so years ago... an elder matriarch, if she remembered correctly.

And if there were no Amazons in the area, she could have her restaurant moved to Graviton City. Of course, she would need to be certain that her somewhat-unwilling son-in-law was in the area before she moved, but from a business standpoint, rent was cheap.

She frowned, shaking her aged head and her sending her hair lashing behind her ominously. But the first thing is first, of course. Any allies she might find would help her keep an eye out for Ranma, and she would be one step closer to taking care of the problems that Happosai had caused.

Her frown deepened at that. Happosai would have hell to pay, and from more than just her. Ranma's friends wouldn't stand for it, and Cologne had no doubt that her own great-granddaughter would be more than willing to apply a liberal beating to the aged lecher... Which made her wonder why Happosai would do something as spiteful and foolish. Had she, perhaps, given the old man too _much_ credit?

Cologne knew that one way or another, she wanted Ranma to become a better martial artist, and maybe a dose of humility wouldn't hurt... But this was extreme, even for Happosai. Maybe he was that petty... Still, if there was a way to cure Ranma, the old man might be saved some punishment... and if there wasn't, well Ranma was still viable as an Amazon husband... He _had_ already defeated Shampoo, after all.

Clicking her tongue, the old woman pogoed down a street, narrowly missing seeing a suspiciously familiar redhead in her jogging outfit, on her early morning run. Had Cologne _looked_ she might have gotten an inkling of what was going on, but as it was, she relied too heavily on her ki-senses, which recognized the difference and thus ignored the girl.

***

Ryouga scratched his head, looking around. "What the heck is this?" he muttered to himself, peering across the stretch of tarmac before him, softly bathed in the glow of the rising sun.

Sighing, he wandered towards a building he could see in the distance. It looked a lot like an S.D.F. base, and the Self Defense Forces were usually helpful and friendly enough when it came to directions, provided he managed not to blunder anywhere that he really shouldn't go... but that hadn't happened in a while, so he wasn't _too_ worried.

Of course, there were a few planes on the runway, and various maintenance crews scurrying around. The lost boy shrugged, deciding that he would just try asking them for help. It couldn't hurt, and he had spoken with a good number of their kind before.

He walked towards the ground crew, thankful that he couldn't see any chain-link fences. That was a good sign, since it meant he was probably in a place where he wouldn't get in trouble.

The maintenance staff smiled politely as he drew near, though he could see the slight hint of confusion on the lead mechanic's face.

A burly man in his early thirties, he stepped towards Ryouga, protecting a beloved F-15J with his own body, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Ryouga smiled weakly, worried about Akane in his absence. "Well," he began apologetically, coming to a halt a few meters away from the man. "I got lost..." Clearing his throat slightly, he applied what little bit of knowledge he had about head mechanics. "That's a beautiful plane you have there."

The ground crew relaxed at that, and the head mechanic smirked, shaking his head. "Yeah, she's a real beauty, isn't she?" There was a moment of silence as he turned towards the nearest plane, and patted it lovingly. 

Ryouga nodded knowingly, not saying anything for the moment.

"Y'er out here pretty early, though. Tell ya what, it's a good bit into town from here; stick with us for a few, and I'll give you a ride back into the city in a couple hours. My shift ends around noon." Sticking a callused hand out towards Ryouga, the man smirked, adding, "Sorry, get caught up in things, sometimes. Name's Daichi Akito. But you can call me Touhi, most of my friends do."

Ryouga smiled pleasantly, glad that the men were friendly, even if it was going to take him a while to get back to the city. It was better than getting hopelessly lost again... Of course, Hokkaido was smaller than Honshu, but... "I'm Hibiki Ryouga, pleased to meet you," he said, giving the grinning mechanic a firm handshake.

***

Ukyou frowned, fingering the giant battle-spatula strapped to her back thoughtfully. Akane paced in front of her, briskly walking about in the too-early morning chill. "Honestly," Ukyou grumbled. "How the hell did Ryouga manage to get lost already?"

Akane faltered briefly, shaking her head. "I don't know," she sighed. "But you have to feel kind of sorry for him."

Ukyou grunted in a non-committal manner. "Maybe... you seem to like him, huh?" 

Ignoring the comment, the short-haired Tendo scanned for some sign of Ranma, as though she would be able to see a magical trail leading to him somehow.

With a shake of her head, Ukyou mentally filed away her plans to get Akane together with Ryouga, and returned to looking around. It wouldn't do to let Akane find Ranma alone, despite the relatively slim chances of actually finding anything, especially at five in the morning. "Why are we looking for Ranchan at this hour? Is he ever awake this early?"

Akane winced, a slightly worried and angry look in the corners of her eyes. "I just... need to make sure he's okay." Biting her lip, she turned to Ukyou, sternly forcing herself to avoid wringing her hands. "I'm kind of worried about where we're looking, though... and what if we were totally wrong? What if he doesn't come here? What if Tofu-sensei had nothing to do with Ranma at all?"

The brown-haired okonomiyaki chef frowned, considering. "What other reason would he have for coming here, though? I mean, he had that picture of Ranma from the newspaper, didn't he?"

Rummaging through a pocket, Akane halted her walk, retrieving the clipping. She scrutinized the article again. "The thing is," she said, "this article is just talking about a girl and her family... what does it have to do with Ranma?"

Ukyou opened her mouth to reply, but froze, her jaw falling slightly as her eyes locked onto something past Akane's shoulder, and quickly snapping shut as she grinned wickedly. Akane only had enough time to blink as Ukyou flew past her, shouting, "Ranchan!"

Akane spun, a smile and a 'hello' coming to her lips before she caught herself, watching the okonomiyaki chef bound towards the currently female Ranma.

Ranma stumbled to a halt, boggling at the okonomiyaki chef. "Uh," the redhead said, confused. "Who?"

Ukyou slid to a sudden stop just before Ranma, and smiled in what she hoped was a cute and attractive manner. "Ranma? It's me, Ucchan! Your cute fiancee!"

Ranma's look of confusion deepened, as she shook her head. "Um... fiance? Are you sure you've got the right -- mrph!"

Akane stumbled from her run towards the pair, intending to ask how Ranma was doing, and why he left, but... She could only stare, hurt and confused, as Ukyou released the wide-eyed redhead from a deep, searching kiss. It shook her in a way that Ranma's harsh words never had, creating a burning and undeniable pain deep in her heart. "Ranma!" she shouted, tears obscuring her vision. "How could you!? And you were a girl at the time! You _pervert_!"

Ranma twitched slightly, stepping away with a look of horror etched on her features -- directed not at Akane, but Ukyou -- and moved too slowly to evade the punch that Akane threw towards her. Akane whimpered, as her strike slammed into Ranma's shoulder, knocking the redhead back half a step and nothing more, doing more damage to Akane's hand than Ranma. Clutching her bruised fist to her chest, Akane ran away sobbing and trailing tears, while Ukyou watched with a vague sensation of guilt.

"Ranchan," she began, turning back towards the redhead. "I... uh... I just wanted to show you that I loved you..." she trailed off suddenly, alarmed by tears in the other girl's eyes. "Ranchan? You okay?" Ranma shook her head, stepping back from Ukyou slowly. Ukyou paled slightly, realizing that she might have made a mistake, and that 'Ranchan' was wearing a rather feminine jogging outfit... "Uh... you _are_ Ranma, right?" she asked, uncertainty and near-panic level worry in her voice.

The girl -- who was apparently not Ranma -- shook her head slowly, her eyes filling with tears. "No," she whispered. "Damn you... Ranma --" spinning away abruptly, she dashed away with enough speed to create a vacuum that nearly pulled the okonomiyaki chef off of her feet, picking up dust and stray papers as she departed.

Ukyou came to the startling realization that she done two things she regretted. Firstly, she had kissed another girl, and a complete stranger, at that. Secondly... she had hurt Akane's feelings, and even though she wanted Ranma, hurting Akane was never part of the equation. That's why she had tried so hard to get Akane together with Ryouga... and now she had created what might very well be an impassible rift in their admittedly weak friendship. "Oh... man... what was I thinking?" she berated herself. "I have to find Akane and tell her what happened!"

***

Eiko ran, faster than she had ever run before, forgetting the advice her parents had given her. She couldn't strain herself enough, though. The Earth's pull simply lacked the power necessary to counter the energy she had to pour out, brimming to overflowing with a nigh explosive force. She stumbled to a halt, adrenaline and anger flowing through her, as she wiped away the tears.

Who was that boy? That boy in the okonomiyaki chef's outfit who had called her Ranma, and... and... and _kissed_ her!? And the girl... what on earth had she been talking about, anyway? 'Pervert'? 'Girl at the time'? 

She swallowed, grinding her teeth in frustration. The only boy she had kissed was Ranma, and that... jerk in his okonomiyaki seller's outfit... had to go any take that away! Eiko reigned in her anger, taking a deep breath, and looking behind her, where the wind of her passage had torn up loose papers and uprooted small plants, scattering them in her wake with gale-force and stronger gusts.

Taking another calming breath, the redhead closed her eyes, still trembling with anger... but there was nothing here that could handle her strength -- no safe outlet for her power, her restrained emotion. Her rage at her lack of relief, the still bitter and sharp edge of her inability and her loss of Ranma, and the petty, annoying voice that told her that she had even failed to get rid of any of the tension of the day anyway.

Opening her eyes again, she took a third breath, before slowly walking towards her home. She would just have to wait, and deal with the further indignities of the day. If only there was something to look forward to after everything else that had gone wrong -- some light at the end of the tunnel. But no, as soon as she got home, she would have to prepare for school, and school meant... meant... Biiko.

Listlessly entering her home, Eiko dropped her keys and change-purse on the table before methodically plodding to her room. After gathering her uniform, the girl sighed, and went to the shower.

The warm water was relaxing, and helped fight off the stresses of the day -- far too early for her to need to relax, in her opinion -- and wonder at what would happen next.

The furo was better, in her opinion, but her parents had the final say, not her. She dismissed the thought, and turned to her plans for the day, and her hopes and expectations. Facing up into the stream of rushing water, she ran her fingers through her hair, gathering a handful of shampoo from a dispenser and working it into a fine lather.

She halted mid-shampoo, feeling a small smile build. She was up early! She could go to school before Biiko! It was something to work with, at least. If only the memories didn't haunt her still... And that jerk who had kissed her... Best savor what she did have, in that case. She couldn't resist the urge to hum contentedly as she finished washing.

It might still turn out to be a good day.

***

Ranma stood at the lip of the crater that marked the edge of Graviton City, looking down at the fog shrouded depths and admiring the view. The only flaw in the otherwise perfect vision was the spire in the center of the city, which rose like... like some discarded, misshapen... thing. He grimaced, not being able to find a word appropriately tacky enough to describe its form. Shaking his head, he looked to his side, where Tofu crouched, smiling and enjoying the breeze as it ruffled his hair.

"Wow..." Tofu breathed, raptly gazing at the city. "I've seen it in the papers once or twice, but the view is spectacular!"

Ranma nodded, turning to look again at the city spread out below him. "Yeah, it is... and Eiko's here, somewhere..." he trailed off, frowning. "It's a big looking city, though..." He stepped away from the slope and paused underneath one of the closer trees, reaching his arms out and stretching.

Tofu sighed, looking away from the view, and towards Ranma. The boy knuckled back a yawn before rummaging through his backpack. Frowning slightly, the doctor asked, "So... what do we do from here?"

Shrugging, Ranma answered, "I'm going to look around for Eiko a bit, ask anyone if they've seen her..."

"How will you do that? I thought you lost the picture of her."

The boy scowled at the reminder, shaking his head. "I think I can describe her pretty well, Tofu. I mean, she looks exactly like my girl side."

Narrowing his eyes speculatively, Tofu asked, "Why do you suppose that is? I had noticed, but I hadn't really thought about it too much."

Ranma shrugged, sealing his pack and hefting it to his shoulders. His face fell at the miniscule weight that was all he could manage. Shaking his head, he turned to survey the city again. "I dunno... Probably because they're cursed springs, and they wanted to make me unhappy, or something. Pops thought I was pissed when I found out I turned into a girl... he had another thing coming to him when I figured out which one I looked like."

Tofu nodded, dismissing the issue for the time being in favor of a more pressing concern. "Is this where we part ways?"

The boy shifted his weight from foot to foot, pausing for a moment to consider before he shook his head. "Nah... I'll meet you later today... Uh..." Squinting, he pointed at one of the larger and more colorful buildings he could see in the city. "That ugly yellow building you see there next to the ugly gray one?"

Tofu snickered, shaking his head. "Right, right... I'll meet you on the north side of the yellow building just before sunset, and we'll see where things go from there. Sound good?"

Ranma nodded, smirking and retrieving the bo he had acquired earlier. "Yeah, you still got some of my stuff, after all." Twirling the staff in one hand, he slung it over one shoulder, looking out across the city absently and trying to decide where to begin his search.

Heaving a sigh, Tofu peered once more into the slowly clearing fog. "That's true..." And perhaps gives me time to think about things a little... I have a feeling you're going to stay here, Ranma... you're going to need a friend to get through things, I think. If it keeps you away from your father, I might just have to do it...

He frowned at that, wondering. How did you protect people who took leaping from speeding trains as a given?

***

Chattering voices carried across the yard in front of the school gates, reaching Eiko easily. Whispered questions of, 'who will win today?' followed by the varying opinions that they were offering.

Eiko hissed, her hands clenching into fists at her sides, "Do..." She trailed off, trying to collect herself and remember that she couldn't fight Biiko -- there was too much of a chance that the other girl would be hurt. She trembled with barely restrained rage, looking at Biiko's latest creations.

The 'Arashiyama five,' Biiko had called them. Five gigantic monstrosities, scattered around the edges of the yard before the school gate, in gaudy colors that Eiko more than suspected that Shiko would have picked out, roughly ringed her. Barring her path to her classroom, and more than that, compounding what had already started out as a very bad day.

Biting back a growl, she shouted to Biiko, "Aww, would you give it a _rest_!?" Taking a breath, she tried to ignore Shiko, focusing on Biiko instead. "Today we finally get to school early, and you have to ruin it! And you're going to attack me with these _stupid_ giant robots! Are you _dense_? Get with the times, already!"

The other girl scowled, succumbing further to her own petty rage, and snapped back, "Eiko! The depth of my vexation is beyond your comprehension!" Clenching both fists in front of her face, she yelled, "First, you take my one true love, Shiko, and now even my friends and peers..." She trailed off, stealing a glance at Shiko, who merely looked mystified. "The kami may smile upon you, Eiko, but I never will!"

Shiko glanced at Eiko, wondering at Biiko's declaration of love. "Do you know what she's talking about?" the little blonde asked.

Eiko was too busy glowering, her rage having been built of even further. Who was Biiko to talk to _her_ of love? She'd had, and lost her love, and having the reminder brutally dragged back up, over and over, was beginning to wear thin. She took in a deep breath, ready to shout her displeasure, but halted at the sight of her teacher. Hiding her angry look, she pasted a smile on her face for the benefit of the aquamarine-haired woman as she rolled in on her little motorcycle.

Miss Ayumi, the teacher in reference, shot Biiko and Eiko a stern look, glancing between them before settling on the red-haired student. "Now, now students, since were here on time today, why don't we all get to class?"

The gathered students murmured again, sounding disappointed, but they all trotted into the school, stealing backward glances at what had promised to be an interesting fight. 

The aquamarine-haired teacher's gaze hardened slightly, fine silk giving way to tempered steel. Turning to glance between Biiko and Eiko again, she announced, "You two hurry on inside once you've finished your little game, understood, Eiko-san, Biiko-san?"

Biiko nodded quickly, her eyes firmly fixed on Eiko. "Of course, Ayumi-sensei."

Taking that as a confirmation from both girls, she returned the nod, faced forward on her bike, and rolled through the gates, leaving the three girls alone.

Eiko took another slow breath, Too many for one day, she noted to herself. And it's not even noon, yet. "Shiko..." she said, struggling for self-control, and thrusting her bag towards Shiko. "Can you take this to class and call my name for roll?"

The diminutive blonde nodded slowly, taking the bag. "Um..." she began. "Be careful, Eiko."

The redhead nodded, watching Shiko trot towards the school, casting back fearful glances every few steps.

"Eiko! Prepare to die!" Biiko shouted, gesturing towards the five towering robots.

Right on cue, the robots began to move, aiming their odd-looking canons at the redhead, who leapt towards one of them in a fury, trailing a fierce and wordless battle cry.

Searing lasers swept through the space she had occupied mere moments earlier, as she flew upwards, reorienting her center of balance and grabbing onto the ridiculous hornlike appendage that capped the thing's head. The other robots began moving towards her as she somersaulted, hefting the 80-ton monstrosity in the air and slamming it into the earth with explosive force without any apparent effort.

She crossed her arms before her face, riding the shockwave as it exploded and threw her towards another of the giant robots, this one a horrid shade of yellow. It seemed to almost flinch back as the relatively miniscule redhead slammed a petite foot into the base of what passed for its head, impacting it in a crater easily large enough to be blamed on a meteorite, or rogue nuclear testing.

Biiko smiled, seemingly impassive as Eiko simply smashed directly through a red robot's torso, leaving enough room for another robot or three to pass through, had they wanted to. Her impassive expression failed her, betrayed by a traitorous eyebrow, as Eiko picked up a fourth robot and smashed it into the last vehicle of destruction still standing.

The explosion rocked the remnants of the robots, scattering debris and unleashing a shockwave that whipped Biiko's hair around wildly, her face still attempting to remain placid.

The bluish-gray haired girl eyed the smoking ruins of what had been a multi-million-yen investment -- three days allowance for Biiko, and a pain in the neck for the assembly workers that had slaved over completing her prototype and duplicating the original -- reduced to rubble an destroyed in mere seconds by an angry classmate.

Biiko could practically hear her father already, "You let a schoolmate take away your toys and break them!? Your allowance is going to be cut by ten million yen, young lady! Until you can learn to take care of..." She shook her head, dismissing the imaginary conversation. Her father was actually much more forgiving, but an excuse to be angrier with Eiko couldn't be passed up that easily.

"Eiko!" She shouted, her eyebrow ticking away with alarming celerity. "You have humiliated me for the last time!"

The redhead stared at Biiko numbly, wishing that she could lash out at the other girl, strike her -- just once! -- for her attitude, and her scheming, and her meddling, and hell, once or twice just on general principals. But she couldn't, because if she wasn't careful, Eiko could seriously hurt her.

She was normally a very kind and forgiving person, but this... this was a bit much. Biiko's actions were without reason, and she was going to get someone else hurt if she wasn't careful.

Eiko tore her attention away, managing only a single step towards the school before the bell rang. Hanging her head in defeat, she turned back towards Biiko. Late to class again... thanks, Biiko... what a lousy day...

The other girl snarled, "Eiko! Because of you, I've seen hell!"

***

"And this one here, she's good, used to have very fine control, but she has a tendency to yaw juuuust a tad more than the pilots like. Not sure why yet, but we're going to take her apart completely tomorrow and have a look-see at the--"

Touhi cut off suddenly, turning to face Ryouga as the lost boy wiped at his nose apologetically. "I must be coming down with a cold," he explained, wondering at the sudden sneeze.

The head mechanic shrugged, turning back to the plane, its fuselage opened up for inspection. "Now," Touhi resumed. "If you look closely here..."

Ryouga held back a sigh, wishing that noon would come and he could be given a ride back to the city. Still, the mechanical components were an interesting diversion... And it wasn't like he really wanted to find Ranma that badly.

***

Ranma narrowed his eyes, pausing on the slope leading down the crater rim, through neatly terraced housing and switchback roads. An explosion sounded in the distance, just above the crater rim, and then another, and more, followed by a rather impressive and hazardous seeming column of smoke.

He raised an eyebrow at that, changing direction suddenly. Eschewing the far-too-inefficient roads, he took to the roofs, noting that this neighborhood had taken some unsettling and recent damage. One of the switchbacks had its safety barrier completely blown away, great spans of earth had been torn up in narrow strips, and some of the homes in the area bore scars from decimated walls and pierced fences.

Frowning, he focused on heading towards the explosion, and finding its source. Even if Eiko wasn't involved, there could be people in trouble, and it was a martial artist's duty to protect the weak.

***

Eiko blinked, incredulous at Biiko's attitude, and snapped, "Look! Because of you I'm late _again_! You and your _stupid_ _STUPID_ little robots!"

Biiko cut Eiko off, snarling, "Is that all that you worry about? Nothing else matters, as long as you're on time!?"

Falling silent again, the redhead simply settled for glowering at Biiko, as she droned on, "You've _always_ been like that! Playing the 'good' little girl! And you're too selfish to worry about me, making _me_ be the _bad_ girl! You don't care about anyone except yourself!" The bluish-gray haired girl took a deep breath, balling up a fist at her side. "I hate it, and I always have hated it. Because of you, I've always had to be the _villain_!"

She paused, narrowing her eyes and staring at Eiko darkly. "If I have to be the _bad_ girl, then I'll do this the way that a _real_ bad girl would!"

Eyes narrowing as her face twisted into an incredulous expression, Eiko exclaimed, "What? How are you the victim here? What about _my_ problems? Did you ever think about-"

Not in the mood to listen, Biiko grabbed one edge of her shirt, yelling over Eiko's voice, "Shut up! Then I'll be the bad girl! See what this gets you, Eiko!" With that, she yanked, tearing off the garment, and revealing what looked much more like a metallic blackish-purple bathing suit with oversized boots instead of a proper piece of armor. Biiko, gloated, "What do you think, Eiko? This is the unparalleled 'M' line 'Akagiyama 23'! With this, I can easily defeat you!"

Eiko blinked, wondering, through all of the emotional turmoil racing through her head, where Biiko had managed to hide the mask that she wore while tearing her clothes off. The armored girl shifted her attitude nearly instantaneously, striking a pose while the assembled students chattered from their classroom windows. 

"Wow!"

"Look at _that_!"

"Who do you think is going to win?"

"I wouldn't be caught dead in an outfit like that!" 

And most damning of all: 

"I knew she was sick, but _cosplay_?"

Shaking her head, Eiko dropped her offensive stance, hopping over the fence and landing in the schoolyard. Turning around towards Biiko, still outside the gates, she asked, "Wouldn't real armor be better?"

Biiko held back her embarrassment at the insult to her suit's appearance, following the redhead over the fence and yelling, "Shut up! Come on and fight me!"

Eiko began to shake her head, reigning in the frustration and tension, but blinked suddenly, as realization came to her. Why the hell not? she thought recklessly. She's asking for it. Shifting back to the first stance she had learned from copying -- Best not think about that now, she reprimanded herself.

Shifting her stance to receive a charge, she announced, "Fine. I'm ready for you."

Biiko narrowed her eyes, readying herself to leap forward.

Eiko smiled grimly. "Sorry, this is going to hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt me."

Returning the grin, Biiko mocked, "That's my line."

The two spent a long moment staring at each other, while the breeze carried the scent of destroyed mecha away slowly.

Without any warning, in a unified yet contrary motion, the two charged, responding to an unseen signal, each shouting out their battle cries.

***

Ryouga pointed at one of the small circular dials in the cockpit, and nodded knowingly. "That's the altimeter, that's the fuel gauge right there, and that..." he trailed off, leaning closer to examine another dial. "Ah," he said, relaxing slightly. "That's the compass."

Touhi smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Okay," he said, nodding grudging respect to Ryouga's meager skill. "Tell me what you do if you're cruising at two thousand meters and--" The man stopped suddenly, listening to a short burst of static and some frantic commands being shouted into a loudspeaker. Frowning, Touhi darted away, followed by the majority of his ground crew.

The lost boy frowned, wandering a short distance away from the F-15J. He hadn't been able to understand what all of the commotion was about, but he wasn't about to let himself be too close to the plane if something were happening.

He'd seen far too many movies where people got dragged into things like wars just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Too close to a plane was certainly the wrong place to be if something was happening right now.

***

Bouncing back from the initial clash, Eiko made a note to herself to not hold back as much. The suit was much more powerful than she had expected, though the redhead wouldn't be caught dead in it, if she had any say in the matter.

Leaping forward again, she spun, one foot lashing out. The roundhouse kick missed as Biiko ducked, not yet fully used to her power suit.

Eiko touched the ground for the merest instant before launching into another attack; a jump-kick that could have destroyed any less well-equipped person, but Biiko somersaulted away backwards, quickly throwing herself skyward and twisting around to land on her feet.

She pointed a finger towards Eiko, striking a pose. "Fool! You can never hope to win, because evil never prevails!" cried out the self-proclaimed bad-girl. "Eiko! Prepare yourself to lose!" Finished with her speech for the moment, she unleashed another shout and charged forward, now ready to utilize the potential of her power-suit.

Eiko stepped back -- too slowly. Biiko brought one fist upwards, striking Eiko firmly in the stomach and driving her fist upwards, causing the redhead to curl over the fist, gasping for breath. Never one to let up an advantage, Biiko pulled back her fist and struck again, this time slamming her attack home firmly into Eiko's jaw, easily lifting her off of the ground with it's force.

Still reeling, Eiko tottered back onto the ground, only to receive a vicious backhanded slap that rattled her jaw and knocked her away, but Biiko's relentless attacks continued. The armor-clad girl seized Eiko's wrist as she fell -- spinning sharply and throwing Eiko like a doll, sending her flying towards the school.

Righting herself after crashing through a window, Eiko glowered, briefly surrounded by a halo of falling glass shards, sparkling in the morning light. Okay, she thought, touching one hand to the red carpeted hallway for a moment to ensure her balance was steady. I'm going to have to be more careful!

Rising to her full height she stepped forward, into Biiko's next attack. Shifting her body slightly to one side, the redhead caught Biiko's charging punch, using a classic aikido throw to redirect Biiko's momentum through an interior window. Biiko flipped over and landed on her toes in the middle of the crowded classroom, swiftly launching herself back out as the bewildered classroom attendees stared.

The armor-clad girl slammed into Eiko with a tackle, as the redhead prepared to follow Biiko into the classroom. Grappling for control, Eiko worked her leg free from Biiko's pin, and slammed her knee upwards forcefully, striking the surprisingly sturdy material of the power-suit and launching her opponent towards the ceiling.

Biiko rebounded from the floor easily, just in time to meet a crushing sidekick from Eiko that launched her easily down the corridor, to slam into a wall some thirty yards away.

Half buried in the wall, her body sending her mingled warnings of pain and numbness, Biiko dazedly noted Eiko charging towards her, screaming a 'kiyah' and preparing another attack. Dropping to the floor, she evaded the attack, sliding beneath Eiko's legs across the floor, and springing back to her feet again. Taking advantage of Eiko's surprise at missing, she lunged forward, quickly hooking an arm around Eiko's neck and using her free hand to halt Eiko's other arm.

Fighting back an urge to giggle, Biiko hefted Eiko once, and smashed her into the ground, sending splinters and plaster shards ricocheting around the hall, along with scattered bits of masonry. Retaining her hold, she gloated, "I'm just getting started!"

Setting to a spin once more, Biiko reduced both girls to a blur across the visible spectrum. Laughing maniacally, Biiko released Eiko, sending the redhead flying again... much harder this time.

Eiko smashed completely through the interior window, passed through a classroom full of students, another window, across the courtyard in the center of the school building, through another window, another classroom full of students, and one final window before impacting against a wall and tumbling to the floor amid a heap of falling glass shards. The noise of the shattering windows and her screams as she flew were loud enough to be heard by at least one pig-tailed martial artist as he picked through the remnants of a quintuplet of scrapped -- and still smoking -- robots nearby.

From her position halfway across the school, Biiko grinned, and activated her secret weapon -- a wrist mounted missile-launcher built into the power-suit. It was capable of holding just over two hundred rounds in its clip, and the warheads were small, but packed a lot of power.

Dubbed 'wasps' by the development staff, the little warheads managed a passable approximation of tracking technology. What they actually did, were latch onto color patterns, and look to make sure they were aimed as close to that color pattern as they could before they burnt out, which was a tragically sudden portion of the process.

When she fired a trio of missiles, all of them were looking for a pattern similar to the red of Eiko's hair. The last missile, partially blinded by the trailing smoke, wobbled a little low, and veered upwards, catching a shade of red that the simple computer in the warhead decided was 'red enough.' This was the red of an inquisitive martial artist's shirt, as he stood on the roof and peered around.

Biiko dismissed the errant projectile and subsequent explosion, snorting to herself, "That was too easy." She dusted her hands together in an exaggerated gesture of contempt, before pausing suddenly, hearing something at the edge of her vision, vastly amplified by the power-suit's sensors.

Incredulous, she watched a furious redhead round the corner, looking only slightly singed, but largely none-the-worse-for-wear. Too stunned to react, she was caught on Eiko's shoulder throw, and carried forward in a frenzied rush. "Hah!" Biiko grated out, pretending no pain where there actually was. "You're good, but..." Biiko shifted, grabbing onto Eiko as the redhead rushed, preparing to charge into the wall while bearing the armor-clad girl. "You aren't good _ENOUGH_!" she screamed, flipping over and redirecting all of the momentum into her throw, sending the redhead hurtling towards another wall.

Eiko's eyes flashed for an instant, then she braced herself, slamming into the wall and sending out broken chunks of shattered masonry. Falling limp after taking the full force of the impact, Eiko slumped to the ground, while Biiko resumed her mocking commentary, "Don't you see that you don't have a chance against me?"

Climbing to her feet wearily, Eiko bitterly reflected, At least things can only get better from here. She winced, a hot flare of surprising pain sparking from her bruised hip.

Biiko narrowed her eyes as Eiko winced. The armor-clad girl called out, "If you won't stay down, then I'll _make_ you stay down!" Biiko charged after her latest proclamation, setting into her redheaded opponent with renewed vigor and increased brutality.

Eiko ducked under a kick that would have thrown her through another wall, and managed to deflect the next two punches, her only reward to be flung down the hallway again, this time by an errant snap-kick.

Grinning to herself at the ease with which she had defeated her opponent, Biiko shouted, "Black Jacovini Meteor Lash!" As the sound activated weapon was delivered into her palm, she gestured widely for the benefit of anyone who might be observing, eager to show off her creations.

Eiko lay on the floor, dazed, and resisting the urge to whimper. Biiko wasn't just hitting her -- she could handle being hit. But it actually _hurt_ when she did it! Pain wasn't unfamiliar to Eiko, she knew what it was, and how to deal with it... but this was different. She had always had a hearty constitution before, but these wounds would easily bruise, possibly worse.

And worse still, she knew that she could and should have been fighting much better than she had. Why couldn't she fight? There was the easy answer of removing her bracers, but that could be dangerous to Biiko, and injuring the girl -- though she'd deserve it at this point -- would be an incredibly unkind thing to do.

Before she could collect her thoughts, she felt something wrap itself around her leg, and hurl her up into the air, while she was aware of Biiko's voice just above the rushing of the wind around her. "Take that!"

The ground rose to meet her suddenly, her hands instinctively covering her face to protect it as she impacted, tearing up more splinters as she broke through the layer of carpeted wood, and smashed into the concrete beneath.

"And that!"

The shattered ground was torn out from beneath her, sending her hurtling upwards, to suddenly reverse directions and meet the ruined surface roughly again, sending sharp pains through her knees as they smashed into the splinter covered concrete.

"And that!"

But that was enough for Eiko. Folding her leg sharply, she launched herself towards Biiko in a tight somersault, arcing mere centimeters over Biiko's head. The armored girl turned around in surprise, just in time to catch a face full of foot, but Eiko wasn't done yet.

Placing her hands on the ground as she landed, Eiko twisted around, grabbing Biiko's stumbling form with her ankles and flinging her to the ground while managing to launch her own body away, towards an undamaged point on a far wall. "Screw... _kick_!" she shouted, remembering very clearly Ranma's emphasis on the importance of versatility, adaptation, and ingenuity... though he hadn't used those words.

Biiko's eyes bulged, seeing Eiko neatly rebound across the hallway, and then again from the opposite wall, ending in a trajectory that would terminate in Biiko's face. Reacting more out of panicked instinct than genuine skill, Biiko flung herself away at the last moment, being struck by the debris as Eiko drove her ankle through the floor and imbedded her ankle firmly in the concrete beneath.

Not thinking, Biiko fired off another round of missiles, confident that the fight was under control.

It wasn't.

***

"Wait!"

Akane spun around, wiping at her eyes furiously, fighting back tears with anger. "What!?" she snapped.

Ukyou stumbled to a halt a few steps away, leery of getting too close no matter how sorry she was for what she had done. I have to make an apology, she reprimanded herself. Heaving a shuddering sigh, she said, "I'm sorry."

Akane's eyes narrowed, hurt overpowering the anger, despite her attempts. "So?" she asked, voice quavering. "You're sorry that... that... that Ranma likes you?"

Ukyou winced, and looked away. In a very quiet voice, she said, "You're jumping to conclusions, Akane."

The youngest Tendo took a step back at this, surprised, but eagerly grabbed onto the ray of hope in Ukyou's statement. "Huh?"

The okonomiyaki chef seemed to struggle, as though a great weight rested on her shoulders, and her answer could lighten it... or increase its burden. Slumping slightly, she shook her head. "First off," she began, her voice sounding empty, "I kissed her, not the other way around."

Akane blinked at that, then her eyes widened. "You... you... you..." she sputtered, unable to find the words she was searching for.

Ukyou sighed unsteadily, continuing, "And secondly... that wasn't Ranchan. That was... just... a girl."

The two stared at each other for a long moment, the silence only broken by a muffled explosion, and a stiff breeze rustling loose leaves and trash around nearby. Akane nodded slowly, eyeing Ukyou mistrustfully, and unsure of her feelings.

The okonomiyaki chef stared at her feet, her hands trembling. "Akane... I know that we've never been close friends, but I... I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I was... selfish, and... I'm..." she trailed off, as Akane hunched over and began to convulse weakly. Worriedly, she took a tentative step towards the other girl, "Akane?"

Akane convulsed harder, curling up into a ball, and she released a noise that sounded like a strained sob. Ukyou felt her heart break realizing that she had done this to someone who had deserved better, someone who she should have treated as a friend -- a friend she didn't deserve, she realized darkly.

"Akane..." she said unsteadily, placing one hand on Akane's back. Akane clung to her fiercely, emitting another strangled noise, and Ukyou blinked, comprehension dawning. "Uh, Akane..."

The other girl made the sound again, then managed, between wheezing breaths, "You... you... kissed a strange girl... in the middle of a city you've never... heh.. hehehe... hahah... BWAHAHAHAHAH!"

Unable to keep a straight face, she collapsed into Ukyou's loose embrace, shrieking with laughter, tears streaming openly down her face. The okonomiyaki chef flushed scarlet, feeling keen shame, and an undeniable tinge of amusement with herself for being so foolish. "I guess that was kind of funny," she admitted, still blushing.

***

Cologne looked up at the echoing explosion, suspecting -- somehow -- that her son-in-law was involved. It was the kind of thing that he either caused, or was drawn into.

She debated for a moment charging across the city, situated as she was on the far side of the crater's rim. The debate was lost with the remembrance that Ranma was still under the influence of the ultimate weakness moxibustion. He'll need help, Cologne thought, increasing her pace and taking to the rooftops.

Oh, certainly he'll resent it, but a dead Ranma is of little use to us, and less to himself. She nodded knowingly, her leaps chewing up the distance between herself and the source of the explosion, still venting a giant cloud of smoke. He'll need all the help he can get, even if he doesn't admit it to himself.

***

A klaxon blared warning in the distance, and Ryouga observed several pilots jogging towards their respective planes. Nodding knowingly, he decided to try and sneak away.

Not having anything else to think about, he ran the accumulated data that Touhi had given him through his head again.

A plane started turning towards him, and he realized belatedly that he was standing on the runway. Dropping any pretense of sneakiness, Ryouga turned away and ran full bore.

The F-15J's on this airfield had been customized, Touhi had told him.

Five steps later, a small black piglet struggled to free itself from a pile of sodden clothing, seeing an accelerating F-15J bearing down on him. Unleashing a terrified 'Bweeee!" he galloped away, trying to vary his course and get away from the approaching craft.

Each of them had the wheels replaced with slightly narrower dual wheels, for a little bit of extra ease in landing, and aid if one of them happened to blow out. 

Ryouga's curse being what it was, his wildly varied course turned into a straight line, directly in the path of the approaching craft's front tires.

Ryouga had thought that Touhi was just making an excuse for tinkering with the tires.

'Bwee'ing madly, he accelerated his trot to a full out gallop, wincing as a glance behind him revealed the foremost tires running over his clothing and launching them upwards into the ominous compartment that the landing gear folded into.

The width of the tires had been adjusted, so that they were exactly sixteen centimeters apart.

Turning suddenly, Ryouga came to a complete halt, centering himself on that small gap between the tires. Maybe I can fit through as a pig! he thought excitedly. Yes! That will work!

P-chan was also almost exactly sixteen centimeters wide. The plan was perfect, and might have worked if it weren't for one minor detail. The weight of the planes caused the tires to bulge, ever so slightly, and placed them at a total of only fifteen centimeters apart.

He exhaled, sucking in his porcine gut and making himself as slim as possible, a thin fifteen and one eighth of a centimeter wide, the end result being... a small piglet wedged into the space between the front two wheels, galloping madly in an attempt to escape.

The piglet's little hooves scrabbled for purchase, actually managing to halt the tire for a single moment. The moment didn't last, and he found himself launched upwards, face-first towards the post supporting the tires.

Said tires did not bulge near the top, so that once the piglet had gained upward momentum, he suddenly found himself free of the wheel's grip, missing the shocks and support post. Flying free of the tires, he ended caught in a tangle of clothing and wires. Oh good he thought dazedly, as the tires ascended, and the covering plate sealed him inside. I'm with my clothes again.

***

Tofu walked through a semi-residential area, pausing at the sight of a comfortingly familiar building -- one that could have been a clinic. The phone registry said that the address was only a few blocks away from the only 'Megami Clark' in the city, so...

The doctor frowned, considering things. He didn't know the first thing about the likelihood of getting a good business if he were to rent the clinic and set up here... and he wasn't certain that he wanted to settle down again so quickly... and he wasn't certain that Ranma would appreciate the efforts... and he wasn't certain that 'Eiko' lived here at all... and--

He cut the line of thought off, scowling. There were too many things to consider this early. There were too many unknowns, and -- "Damnit," he said softly. He recognized that particular progression of logical thought all too well.

Bad enough that his mother would nag him and apply reverse psychology to make him do what he thought was right over what he wanted to do, but to have his own mind work against him? Then again, the doctor thought, recalling Kasumi, it wouldn't be the first time.

Turning towards the building, he rapped on the door, curious if the real estate agent would be in, or worse, if someone else had already made an offer.

Sure enough, mere moments after knocking, a pleasant-seeming man carrying a broom answered the door, all polite smiles and nods of the head. "Good morning, sir! And how can I help you?"

Tofu scratched the back of his head nervously, then sighed. It wouldn't hurt to ask a few questions, that was certain. "Well," he began slowly. "I was wondering if this building was available for rent, you see..."

The man nodded eagerly. "It's available, Sir, it is it is... Just want to make sure she's in tip-top condition and ready to be rented out, you know... My name's Oe Shiro. What's yours, if I might ask?"

"Ono Tofu," he replied, glancing around the building absently. It was fairly similar to his own, in many ways, but there were some striking differences. It was bit little larger, and the placement was awkward, nestled as it was between two taller buildings, but... "What's the back yard like?"

Shiro shrugged, leading Tofu through a small kitchen-like area in the back of the building. "Most people don't pay too much attention to the back yard, but it's decent. This land was bought when the city was new, but it's been a real pain selling it... By the way, what were you looking at using this building for? It's got potential as quite a few things, you know, and the apartment upstairs is quite spacious."

Tofu made a noncommittal noise, "Well... I was thinking a clinic, but I'm not certain..."

Shiro paused at the edge of the backdoor, sliding the panel open to show the backyard to Tofu. "Good idea," he advised. "We've got plenty of doctors down in the city, but none around here." Tofu more than suspected that the location was not as prime as Shiro would have him believe, but it was still somewhat comforting to hear.

Stepping out into the backyard, the doctor resisted the urge to stare. It was easily the size of the rest of the clinic, if not larger. Completely flat, with the sparse stubble of a recently planted lawn, but... "I don't know," he dithered. "I'm kind of partial to sand gardens, myself. And maybe a koi pond."

Nodding eagerly, Shiro gestured, "Easily changeable however you would like, Sir. Of course, you'd have to pay for it yourself, but..." he trailed off, noting Tofu's frown at the neighboring buildings. "Is there a problem, Ono-san?"

Adjusting his spectacles slightly, Tofu shook his head. "Just that those buildings look like they'd block all the sunlight." He knew a little bit about bargaining... and he wasn't certain that he wanted the building anyway. The hulking, squat steel and glass monoliths on either side of the property did make it feel more cramped than it actually was.

Shiro frowned, and was about to rebut the doctor's statement, only to close his mouth and look up at the sky in surprise. Tofu looked up along with him, seeing what looked like a glinting ember that seemed to hang motionless, twinkling in the air.

"What do you suppose that is?" Shiro asked, dumbfounded.

Tofu narrowed his eyes, then grabbed Shiro and hauled him indoors, mere seconds before an ear-splitting 'kra-THOOM!' shook the potential clinic, sending the pair tumbling to the ground.

Shiro's eyes widened, and he hauled himself to the doorway, peering out in alarm. "Well," he said unsteadily. "One of the buildings is gone, so you got your sunsets right there!"

Another explosion rocked the building, while Tofu threw himself on top of Shiro, bearing the other man to the ground again.

"And look!" Shiro managed from underneath Tofu, seemingly not dazed by the fall, "The other building is gone too! So what do you say, isn't it perfect!?" Indeed, where the buildings had been were stray spires of twisted steel, and great columns of smoke... but no more buildings.

Tofu stared at the man in frank disbelief, as another projectile fell down, blasting a crater into the backyard and spraying burning debris to rain down across the sparse lawn.

"See! See!" the real estate agent exclaimed, wriggling out from under Tofu, climbing to his feet, and jumping up and down in excitement. "Perfect for a sand-garden and koi pond!"

The doctor could only blink in stark amazement. "Are you serious?" he asked, incredulous. "I mean, trying to get me to rent this building _now_!?"

Shiro shrugged, unable to hide a mad grin. "Aww, hells, I'll throw in the first month's rent for free!"

Tofu blinked, hearing more distant explosions. "Uh... who taught you how to make deals like this?"

"Picked it up from my son, Kintaro."

Again, the doctor could only blink, while the shrill piercing noise of shrapnel continued to surround them. "Kintaro... Oe Kintaro..." Shaking his head, he surrendered. "Fine. How much is it going to be after next month?"

***

Ukyou looked up as the sky filled with various pieces of flaming debris. "This can't be good," she commented.

Akane raised an eyebrow, nodding her agreement. "Should we go somewhere for cover, you think?"

The okonomiyaki chef noted one particular piece of falling material that looked to be headed specifically for them. "That might be a good idea."

***

The words 'Ranma was not pleased' failed to convey the depths of his displeasure. He had spent two weeks trying to come to grips with a total lack of strength, had been chased by a small and persistent explosive projectile when he had drawn near this place, and when he had finally found Eiko...

Oh yes, he found her, and he was _most_ displeased at the state he had found her in. 

He saw another girl -- whose behavior reminded him _far_ too much of Kodachi's more frightening moments -- beating up the person he wanted to talk to had infuriated him. Rage boiled off of him like a thick palpable force, his aura crackling and flaring a bright actinic blue.

He drew on what calmness he could muster, knowing that attacking in a blind fury would solve nothing. A fond smile grew as Eiko counterattacked, even if she missed. Eiko wasn't a pushover, that much was certain.

But the other girl firing a volley of missiles... Ranma knew of only one way to save Eiko at that point, so he took it, hiding his aura as he entered the battle.

***

Biiko's eyes widened at the sudden realization that her missiles would not be evaded -- Eiko's foot was wedged firmly in the concrete, allowing her no room to dodge the shots.

Her mind was divided on this. One the one hand, she felt glad that she had won, and that her respect, her position, and of course, her Shiko would be restored to her. On the other hand, she wasn't sure she wanted to hurt Eiko that badly.

But that too was removed from the equation, as a relatively handsome boy in Chinese battle tunic and pants moved to intercept the missiles -- moved faster than she could even with her armor, and probably faster than Eiko, as well.

Then she began to experience regret, watching the small projectiles launch forward towards the innocent, and wondered just what was going to happen next.

***

Eiko's eyes closed, as she realized that she was trapped -- for the moment, at least -- and that she was going to get hit. Hurt? Perhaps not, but hit, and that this was a truly, _truly_ bad day.

It will get better, though, she thought, no longer wholly convinced. Her optimism was only able to take so much of a beating before it gave out, and it was drawing near that point already.

Then she waited, hearing the slow-seeming sound of the rockets on the missiles as they roared towards her, and distant sound of footsteps rushing... footsteps?

She opened her eyes, rewarded by seeing a surging red blur, and hearing a fast, "Kiyaaaaaah!"

Someone was standing in front of her, spinning a bo quickly, and striking the passing missiles _just_ so...

The stuck projectiles spun, as multi-million-yen in development cost projectiles met with a piece of wood that a poor martial-artist had picked up while traveling. The wood delicately tapped the sensitive steering vanes, once, sending them spinning, then again on the opposite side, neatly reversing their direction of thrust. At that point, the primitive tracking system could only 'see' forward, where there was no red, so they simply continued blindly in that direction, towards a certain Akagiyama M line 23-clad student.

Biiko's regret deepened, as she ran, chased by her own missiles and screaming, "Eiko! This is all your fault!"

The mysterious stranger dressed in his Chinese clothing turned around, and Eiko's eyes widened.

It wasn't a stranger at all. It was _Ranma_.

And suddenly, it wasn't such a bad day anymore.

------------

Author's Notes:

04/14/01 -- Pre-reader draft.

04/16/01 -- Tax day draft!!! (Second pre-reader draft) Various grammatical errors cleaned up.

04/23/01 -- FFMLR draft! Yippie!

04/24/01 -- Delphi draft.

05/06/01 -- Final (we hope) draft.

Hah... this chapter was much harder to write than I had originally expected. I hope that it works. :\

The fight scene. Right out of the movie? Yes. Why? Well, I've been getting a lot of comments from people who haven't seen the movie, so I thought I'd include that, and help give some idea of what the show is like. And now, if you haven't yet, go watch it!

Anyway. Thanks to Corwin, my _vastly_ overworked pre-reader.


	4. Strike! Sink or Swim?

Rursus Iterum Chapter Three  
  
Part A  
  
Strike! Sink or Swim?  
  
Disclaimer: Takahashi provided us with the paint, property  
of her and Viz video, and additional colors borrowed from  
Soeishinsha Co., Ltd. and U.S. Manga Corps. this time around. I'm  
simply a peasant with an easel.  
  
Previous chapters can be found here:  
http://members.tripod.com/lwf58/fan_fiction/durandall/index.html  
  
------------------  
  
Eiko gaped at the boy in front of her as he offered a  
nervous smile, hands fidgeting absently with the staff slung across  
his shoulder. His eyes were still the same cerulean blue that she  
had expected to come to accept she would never see again -- the hue  
so full of that warm love and trust that she had thought she would  
have to learn to live without. Her heart skipped a beat, seeing that  
the glow from his gaze hadn't dimmed, and that -- however it had  
happened...  
  
Ranma was back.  
  
Flushing, he lowered his gaze to his feet, dropping his hand  
to his side and letting the jo tap against the ruined carpet below.  
"Um," he muttered, before pausing to clear his throat. "Um, I'm  
_really_ sorry about this." Swallowing back further words, he bit  
his lip, allowing his empty hand to rise and scratch the nape of his  
neck.  
  
The redhead slowly smiled, realizing that the situation was  
real, more than a passing dream or cruel fancy. Wrenching her ankle  
free of its concrete confinement, she took an unsteady step towards  
him. "Ran... ma?" she whispered, unable to summon the strength to  
speak any louder. That whisper turned to a muffled sob, as she  
managed, "Ranma? Is that... you?"  
  
He nodded, raising his eyes to meet hers again. "I... yeah,  
it's me, Eiko. I'm... really sorry."  
  
She blinked, taking another slow step, and coming to a halt  
just before him. Looking up into his face, she could see the lines  
of worry and more recent lines of anger in his face -- lines that  
had not been there before he... he...  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"  
  
Ranma flinched at that, and shook his head. "I'm sorry," he  
muttered plaintively. "Pops... Pops told me that you were dead. I  
mean... I woulda come back, but..." He trailed off, biting his lip.  
  
Eiko slowly began to smile. "But you're not dead," she  
stated. "Right?"  
  
The boy shook his head quickly, still staring at his feet  
and unable to meet her eyes for the moment. "Not last time I  
checked..."  
  
Releasing a whoop of joy, Eiko grabbed him in a hug,  
spinning him around quickly, and barely restraining the urge to jump  
up and down in a madly gleeful dance. "You're back! You're back!  
YES!"  
  
He returned the embrace, emitting only a muffled sputtering  
noise until she set him down -- but did not release him. "Finally,"  
she managed, nearly at a whimper. "I missed you... oh, Ranma, you  
don't want to know how horrible it was thinking you were dead and  
trying to go on without you..." She released him, looking up into  
his flushed and smiling face. "I always somehow hoped... that you  
would come back. Ranma? Do you..." she trailed off, her warmly  
glowing eyes peering into his and nearly brimming over with moist  
affection.  
  
Ranma swallowed, blinking, and suddenly appearing to  
remember something. "Uh..." he began, slowly. "There's a lot we have  
to catch up on..."  
  
***  
  
Agent CD138621 S113, code-named 'D', was unable to restrain  
a smile of delight. True, the injuries taken in pursuit of the  
princess had pained the agent horribly... but sacrifices had to be  
made in the name of duty.  
  
And those sacrifices had paid off, because today D was  
planning on returning to the people that had been left behind in  
pursuit of the mission. The princess had been found at last, and  
would be returned to her people! She sniffled, wiping away a stray  
joyous tear.  
  
Thumbing the com-link active while the engines to the Leota  
Class Scout warmed up from their long disuse, the agent considered  
the vehicle. D smiled again, thinking that the machine had gone on  
too long without being piloted. A hand patted the navigation console  
tenderly, as D's deep rumbling voice asked, "Did you miss me? I'm  
back! And we're going home, soon..."  
  
The com-unit finally finished negotiating the connection  
through a now heavily scrambled ionosphere -- a good sign in D's  
book. It would mean that the Egota Class Cruiser was on the descent,  
and its point-defense systems would be creating heavy disturbances,  
most likely disrupting the relatively primitive communications  
technology of the natives.  
  
A perky seeming green-haired girl was on the moderately  
distorted viewing pane, her image blurring out at short intervals.  
"Agent CD138621 S113?"  
  
D nodded, answering, "Code name 'D.' I'm bringing the  
princess home."  
  
***  
  
Captain Napolipolita smiled, rolling a bottle idly around in  
one hand. The native barbarians had been repelled by the automatic  
defenses so far, but the Egota Class Cruiser was low enough in the  
atmosphere for the captain to deploy their ship's own units in  
response. The fighters would throw the natives into disarray,  
providing D enough cover to escape without risk to the princess.  
  
Nodding curtly at the communications officer who had relayed  
D's message, the Captain's voice rang out to the bridge crew. "Ready  
the Widows for launch. We'll destroy these barbarians yet." Slurring  
slightly, the tone shifted from one to formal command to an  
indignant whine. "And someone get me another bottle of bourbon, damn  
it all! This one's empty."  
  
***  
  
Ranma cleared his throat, glancing behind him towards the  
hall that Biiko had disappeared down mere moments ago. "Um, well...  
you see, Eiko... uh... Pops screwed up a few other things, too..."  
  
Eiko shook her head, pressing her face into Ranma shoulder.  
"I don't care," she declared. "It can't be anything really bad.  
You're back, right?" She broke off and stared up at him in worry.  
"What could he have done?"  
  
Looking nervous, Ranma admitted, "He, uh... engaged me to  
some other girls..."  
  
Eiko stepped away sharply, peering into his eyes and hoping  
to see a trace of humor. "You're kidding. Right?" Shaking her head,  
and trying to keep a certain hysterical edge from her voice, she  
asked, "What does this mean?"  
  
He scratched the back of his head, looking away. "Um...  
don't mean nothing, yet. I mean, I ain't married or anything, just  
engaged, you know... Er... well..." he trailed off with a frown,  
unsure of what to say.  
  
After a moment of consideration, the redhead grinned again,  
her golden eyes shining with hope. "But you came back for me, right?  
That's great!"  
  
Ranma ducked his head meekly. "Err... it's not quite that  
easy, you see, 'cause... well... you haven't met 'em yet." Eiko's  
cheerful demeanor persisted, as he continued. "See, first off, I'm  
supposed to marry this girl that Pops engaged me to before I was  
born, and inherit her dojo and stuff..."  
  
The girl nodded, maintaining her hopeful smile.  
  
"Then there's this girl I met when we were kids, and I'm  
supposed to marry her, too. Er... she's a good friend, though... she  
makes okonomiyaki." Ranma released a puff of air, his hands  
fidgeting with his bo uncertainly. He wasn't even sure why he  
included that detail, but the way Eiko's face darkened at the  
mention of okonomiyaki worried him. "Er... anyway, and then there's  
this Chinese Amazon that I beat in a fight..."  
  
Eiko shook the frown from her face, smiling hopefully again.  
"But," she said, poking Ranma in the chest, "you came back for _me_,  
right?"  
  
Ranma stumbled back a step at Eiko's prodding, catching  
himself and fidgeting uncertainly for another moment, before he  
nodded apologetically. "Yeah, and... 'cause I... uh... there's some  
other stuff too, ya see-"  
  
"I don't know who you are, but you'll pay for messing with  
me!" The shout rang out, surprising both of the teens. Further  
conversation was interrupted by the arrival of one slightly singed  
and very angry Daitokuji Biiko, flying down the corridor towards  
Ranma.  
  
Eiko clasped her hands under her chin, her eyes flying wide  
and sparkling with joy. Ranma was going to fight to protect her? It  
was all she could to keep from jumping up and down from the sheer  
elation the moment inspired within her.  
  
The pigtailed boy made a face and leapt into the air, neatly  
arcing his leap over Biiko bringing himself to a position to strike  
the girl-become-airborne-projectile.  
  
Biiko stared in shock as Ranma stabbed towards her left arm  
with a single finger. After striking a point not protected by  
Biiko's armor, Ranma curled himself into a ball and flipped free.  
Tumbling in midair, the pigtailed boy managed three seemingly lazy  
flips before he came to rest on his feet, arms low and jo clasped  
loosely in his free hand. He smirked, facing Biiko in a relaxed  
ready-stance. The battle-bikini-armored girl flew down the corridor,  
missing Eiko by mere inches as the redhead belatedly ducked to avoid  
an unpleasant impact.  
  
Ranma's eyes followed Biiko's course as it shifted from  
straight line to slowly expanding corkscrew, and he winced in  
sympathy as she slammed into the far wall. "Well," he remarked to  
Eiko, watching the bluish-gray-haired girl struggle to regain her  
feet, "I guess she had it coming after everything she did to you."  
  
The normally haughty girl staggered forward, bits of wood  
and masonry sloughing off of her arms as she removed herself from  
the indentation in the wall, smaller clouds of dust rising as the  
falling chunks of debris struck their larger cousins on the floor.  
Clutching one arm in shock as it hung limply, she stared at it for a  
moment uncomprehendingly before the reality of the situation  
registered. "What did you do?!" she shrieked. "My arm! I can't feel  
my arm!"  
  
Ranma's smirk grew wider as he nodded and leant against a  
not-entirely-ruined wall. "Shiatsu paralysis. You won't be able to  
move that arm for a few hours, unless someone else unlocks it."  
  
"There's no such thing," she sputtered indignantly.  
  
Scowling, Ranma tensed, releasing his aura, and causing both  
girls to stumble back in alarm. "And I suppose there ain't anything  
like ki, either, huh?" The blue ki-flames bled easily into the  
visible spectrum, their uppermost reaches licking at the ceiling  
while its width was easily three times Ranma's own.  
  
Biiko said nothing, only able to gibber at the display. The  
pigtailed martial artist nodded, glad that the girl was unable to  
know that while Ranma could sheathe himself in an aura of ki... he  
couldn't do anything with it, yet.  
  
That aspect didn't bother him, though. There was time, and  
he could come up with something if he had to. Aside from which, as  
Ranma had learned, good bluffers didn't get called often.  
  
Eiko merely blinked, taking a tentative step forward.  
"Ranma?" she asked, wonder apparent in her voice.  
  
He suppressed the essentially harmless light show, still  
staring at Biiko. "And if you want to do anything to Eiko, you gotta  
go through me first. Got it?"  
  
Biiko said nothing, merely growling as she stabbed a button  
on the bracer she wore about her paralyzed arm. Dismissing her, the  
pigtailed boy turned towards Eiko again. "Anyway," he said, losing  
some of his bravado. "Um... Oh yeah. What I wanted to talk to you  
about... you see-" He threw himself to the floor suddenly, a brief  
volley of missiles passing over his head narrowly, the searing heat  
from their exhaust making Ranma wince. He tried to roll away as they  
arced sharply downward after he dodged, forcing them to slam into  
the floor and scattering debris across him as they tore up more of  
the swiftly deteriorating school. "What the-" he gasped, spinning  
again to search out where they had come from.  
  
He groaned, seeing Biiko smirk at him, her arm no longer  
paralyzed. Raising her voice in a haughty tone, she sneered, "You  
underestimate the power of technology, whoever you are. You're a  
mere peasant, and cannot hope to combat the mighty Akagiyama M-line  
23's internal diagnostics and intensive care functions!"  
  
Ranma rolled to his feet, swiftly sidestepping the next  
barrage of missiles, and ducking another hail of blasted masonry.  
Growling, he charged forward, only to change direction and leap,  
narrowly avoiding yet another salvo. "Geez!" he exclaimed, hanging  
onto the nearly smooth ceiling, and causing both girls to gawk. "How  
many of those things do you _have_?"  
  
Biiko shook her head, trying not to wonder how Ranma managed  
to cling to the ceiling with two feet and one hand, still holding  
his jo in the other. Eiko sighed longingly, causing Ranma to look  
down and momentarily distracting the boy with the view that his  
vantage and Eiko's uniform provided.  
  
Seizing the opportunity, Biiko leveled her wrist to fire the  
next burst at the pigtailed boy.  
  
***  
  
"Well," Ukyou panted, leaning against a skyscraper, and  
peering at the sky with worry. "What now?"  
  
Akane shook her head, more winded than the okonomiyaki chef,  
and wheezed out, "Don't know... we safe... here?"  
  
Swallowing, the taller of the girls let herself sink to the  
ground, one hand going to the stitch in her side. "Think so."  
  
Gulping for breath, Akane sank to the ground opposite her,  
and groaned weakly. "Oh, no..."  
  
Ukyou let out a slow breath, frowning. "What?"  
  
Akane rifled through a pocket intently, her face a mask of  
concentration, and produced the newspaper clip again. "I just  
thought... of something..."  
  
Ukyou eyed the clip, having memorized the picture already.  
"Yeah? What's that?"  
  
Akane managed a sickly grin. "I think this article's just  
about a girl... er... 'Eiko' it says here."  
  
Blinking, the okonomiyaki chef took the paper tentatively,  
reading the article. "Um..." she began, uncertain. "Well, Ranchan  
wouldn't wear a dress... would he?"  
  
Rolling her eyes, the youngest Tendo complained, "He has  
before, hasn't he? But I don't think that this is him."  
  
Ukyou grimaced at the article. "Yeah, you're right. So you  
think we came here for no reason? Just chasing after a girl?"  
  
***  
  
Biiko managed an indignant squawk, as her attack  
preparations met with a sudden and fierce tornado, a giant column of  
battle-aura fueled wind bore her upwards, tearing through the  
ceiling and upper floors of the school with frightening ease. The  
concentrated maelstrom shrieked in fury for a long minute, shredding  
everything above it and flinging debris around recklessly, before it  
shrunk and faded, leaving a huge fall of dust to cloud up and  
obscure the end of the hallway.  
  
Emerging from the cloud of dust, a grizzled and ancient  
amazon hobbled forward, balanced precariously on her staff. Her  
knowing smirk complemented her tone of voice. "So, my dear Ranma-  
chan... Impressed by my Amazon lore, hmm?" She addressed the  
question to Eiko, who was staring at the display with wide eyes. "I  
trust everything has been well for you?"  
  
Ranma looked up towards the voice, managing to lose his grip  
and fall, landing awkwardly atop Eiko. He blinked, before looking  
down to see Eiko's startled eyes peering back at him, wide and  
shimmering golden. "Ack!" he sputtered, leaping up and landing in a  
defensive stance, facing the Amazon elder.  
  
Flushed, the redhead climbed to her feet, smirking at  
Ranma's mirroring blush before she turned to watch the display. Eyes  
widening further, she thrust a finger towards the elderly figure,  
exclaiming, "That's my competition?!"  
  
Ranma looked at Eiko and winced, coughing slightly. "Um...  
no." Turning to face Cologne again, he scowled, addressing the oddly  
shocked Amazon. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Cologne collected herself, ignoring the 'thud' as Biiko  
landed roughly, as well as the subsequent groans. "Ranma..." the  
Amazon said slowly, eyes darting between Ranma and Eiko. There were  
many possible explanations for why her Son-in-law was standing next  
to a nearly identical copy of his girl-form. None of them were good,  
in her estimation. "So... you came here for her?"  
  
Ranma nodded tersely, holding an arm in front of Eiko as  
though to protect her from the ancient Amazon. "Yeah," he muttered.  
"What's it to ya?"  
  
Cologne grumbled, simply shaking her head, as Biiko regained  
her feet behind her. The armor-clad schoolgirl glared, and waved her  
fist threateningly, shouting at Eiko. "What's going on here? Have  
you no honor? Bringing all these people into the fight -- Eiko!  
Prepare yourself!"  
  
So saying, the girl launched herself over the still-dazed  
Cologne's head, catching Ranma off-guard and slamming into his  
chest. He had enough time to dazedly wonder at the similarity to  
some of his father's beloved techniques before he had the wind  
knocked out of him.  
  
Grabbing onto the pigtailed boy tightly, Biiko increased her  
acceleration, plowing straight through the already damaged wall  
behind him, where Eiko had impacted previously. The redhead gawked,  
then turned to follow, Cologne trailing her closely through the  
newly created and dust-filled aperture that led outside.  
  
***  
  
Miss Ayumi narrowed her eyes, trying to avoid staring at  
Shiko, as the young blonde gazed out the window, lost in her  
thoughts. Her students, not being as diligently devoted to her  
curriculum, began to shuffle around in their seats uncertainly. She  
ignored them, lecturing, "And so we can see that the inverse of the  
square is proportional to the events of sixteen-fifty-three, where,  
if you consult your math-books, we discover that it is in fact, a  
combination of the base alkaloids..."  
  
A sudden tremor shook the building violently, causing all of  
the schoolgirls to look up in alarm. Struggling to maintain her  
balance, Miss Ayumi shot a glare at the window, wondering what had  
caused the event. "Everyone remain calm," she ordered. "It's  
probably just another little accident from the chemistry lab."  
  
Shiko's eyes flew wide, and she turned away from the window,  
crying out, "Eiko!"  
  
The teacher frowned, wondering at the little blonde's shout.  
Before she could reprimand Shiko, the diminutive girl was on her  
feet, and charging towards the classroom door, a second yell of,  
"Eiko!" trailing behind her.  
  
Ayumi shouted after her, "Shiko-san! Come back here!" She  
halted her pursuit of Shiko, seeing other students begin to edge  
towards the doorway.  
  
Asa, a reasonably becoming girl with her hair in a ponytail  
and sporting a bandage about her temples led a secondary charge,  
taking Ume and Ine with her as she followed Shiko out the door.  
  
The confused teacher chased them to the hall, whereupon they  
increased their pace. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Miss  
Ayumi shouted after them. Any response was cut off in a clatter of  
shattered glass and crumbling masonry as Mari smashed through the  
wall, her powerful muscles rippling beneath her school uniform.  
  
"Eh..." Ayumi managed, watching Mari shed her bandages and  
join the chase. The final girl was a real behemoth, and Miss Ayumi  
gave in to the temptation to remain silent, rather than risk the  
schoolgirl's 120-some kilo ire, as Mari's inarticulate bestial cry  
echoed down the corridor.  
  
***  
  
Ranma choked, struggling for breath against the crushing  
force on his ribcage. "Damn," he wheezed, resisting the urge to  
simply club Biiko about the head, as another stone barrier smashed  
apart, the brunt of the force directly on his spine.  
  
Taking stock of his options, he swiftly struck several  
shiatsu paralysis points, numbing her arms and dropping painfully to  
the ground. He rolled along the asphalt of a street, momentarily  
thankful that he didn't land in someone's house, and slammed into a  
final cement barrier.  
  
He was distantly aware of Biiko passing through another part  
of the same concrete wall, yelping something indignantly.  
  
Eiko and Cologne followed the line of destruction that  
Biiko's charging assault had left, following the swath of  
destruction closely. The redhead slid to a stop near him, and helped  
him to his feet, worriedly asking, "Are you okay? Ranma? Are you  
okay?"  
  
He nodded, patting the side of his head as though to  
dislodge the sudden fit of dizziness. "Believe it or not," he  
stated, wobbling unsteadily, "I've had worse."  
  
Eiko nodded weakly after a moment, not quite sure how to  
interpret the remark. Ranma shook his head a few more times, then  
settled for watching Cologne warily as she visually inspected him.  
  
The aged Amazon clicked her tongue and sighed, tossing  
Ranma's jo to his feet. "You dropped this, Son-in-law," she  
commented. Her scrutinizing gaze picked out the way Ranma was  
moving. Confidently. Like a fighter. The fighter he'd always been,  
simply... more cautious. She knew that Ranma was resourceful, but  
she had never expected him to simply take something like the  
strength-sapping moxibustion in stride.  
  
Ranma took the staff, wincing slightly as he rubbed a  
shoulder, while Eiko glanced between the two of them, confused.  
Shaking her head, the girl looked behind Ranma, at the bowl-shaped  
indentation he had left in the wall, right next to the irregularly  
broken segment that Biiko had smashed through, littering the ground  
behind the wall with rubble and filling the air with dust. "Wow,"  
she commented, wondering how sturdy Ranma was. He was strong, fast,  
and tough when she had known him those long twelve months and more  
ago... had he gotten stronger, too?  
  
She smiled at him brightly, even though he was intent on  
staring the Amazon down. If he was faster and tougher, then it stood  
to reason that he would be stronger, too. Maybe even stronger than  
her. Strong enough to let her feel normal, at least.  
  
Cologne shook herself out of her reverie, frowning. Who had  
taught Ranma to deal with it? Was he just more adaptable than she  
had thought? "Well, Son-in-law, you seem to be doing quite well for  
yourself."  
  
Ranma nodded guardedly at the old woman. "Yeah? What's it to  
ya?" he asked crossly.  
  
Frowning irately, Cologne said, "Wouldn't you like to know a  
trick that even a weakling like you could use to defend himself?"  
  
Eiko's smile faded, turning into a reproving glance at the  
old woman, while Ranma raised an eyebrow speculatively. "What do you  
mean?" the redhead questioned, curious to this development.  
  
Glancing towards Eiko momentarily, Ranma sighed. "I, uh...  
got this strength sapping... thing... on me that makes me weak." His  
gaze focused back on the old woman. "So what are you trying to sell  
me, ol' ghoul?"  
  
Cologne walloped Ranma over the head with her staff, hiding  
a relieved grin. "Who's an old ghoul?" Ranma scowled, rubbing his  
head and saying nothing. "At any rate," Cologne continued, still  
shooting the occasional glance at Eiko, "I know a technique that  
even someone as weak as you can use..." she trailed off, staring at  
something behind Ranma blankly.  
  
Ranma swallowed nervously and turned around, not entirely  
surprised to see Biiko standing atop the wall, heaving for breath,  
and holding a tank over her head. A large tank, covered in cannons,  
treads, and other massive, heavy pieces of steel. He had never tried  
before, but was willing to bet it weighed much more than he could  
deflect on his best day.  
  
"Oh boy," he muttered. "This just keeps getting better and  
better."  
  
***  
  
Shiko stared uncertainly at the rope ladder dangling before  
her. Asa, Ine, and Ume all peered down at her expectantly, and after  
a moment, Mari joined them in looking down from their perches in the  
giant-schoolgirl-powered gyro-copter.  
  
She bit her lip nervously, looking towards the line of  
destruction tearing across the city in the distance. Another look  
towards the hot-pink craft hovering above her decided her, and she  
grabbed onto the rung dangling before her, hauling herself upwards.  
  
Ine and Asa began hauling the ladder up, while Shiko  
struggled to climb, and Mari began pedaling faster. Smirking, Ume  
took the controls, and began accelerating slowly, giving Shiko time  
to board before using the maximum speed they had available to them.  
  
Shiko squinted, just barely able to make out a trio of  
fleeing figures followed by another, this one hefting a... tank?  
"What's that?" she asked, worriedly.  
  
Ine stared intently forward, grabbing a pair of binoculars  
from beneath her seat. "It looks like Biiko, and she's chasing Eiko  
and some other people with a tank!"  
  
Shiko blinked at that, before frowning unhappily. "She's  
having fun without me?"  
  
***  
  
Ukyou winced as another blast rocked the city, and her eyes  
widened at a giant spider-like tank scurrying down the street,  
bearing a familiar redhead and an even more familiar pigtailed boy  
as it fled. "Um... Akane?"  
  
The youngest Tendo looked up, climbing to her feet wearily.  
"Yeah, Ukyou?"  
  
Ukyou wordlessly pointed at the pair on the oddly shaped  
spider-tank as they receded down the street, tailed by an ancient  
Amazon on a walking stick. "I think we found him."  
  
Akane's eyes widened as another girl rounded the corner,  
this one dressed in a metallic version of Kodachi's normal mode of  
dress, and hefting a giant tank over her head. "Hey!" Akane shouted,  
chasing after the tank bearing girl and joining the procession.  
"What do you think you're doing!?"  
  
Ukyou sighed and joined the chase, trying to ignore the hot-  
pink gyro-copter that was following _her_.  
  
***  
  
Ranma looked back from his perch atop the spider tank, next  
to Eiko, where she was gasping for breath, and groaned.  
  
She caught the groan over the rushing of the wind, and  
looked back with Ranma. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing towards  
the enraged girl chasing Biiko.  
  
Wincing, Ranma coughed. "Er... that's Akane, she's my, ah...  
fiancee."  
  
Eiko narrowed her eyes, seeing someone running behind the  
schoolgirl. "That's the boy that kissed me this morning!" she  
exclaimed, pointing at Ukyou as the okonomiyaki chef came into sight  
momentarily.  
  
Ranma lost his grip, stunned, and fell from his perch,  
rolling with the fall and coming to a rest on the street as Cologne  
paused near him. Dazedly, he asked, "Huh?"  
  
The redheaded girl leapt from the moving spider-tank and  
landed near Ranma, watching Biiko hurl the tank towards them in a  
fast, low arc. "Ranma!" She shouted, "Look out!" Ranma rolled to one  
side as Eiko threw out her arms and caught the tank, the recoil  
forcing her to slide backwards and tear long gouges in the street  
beneath her where her feet tore through the pavement.  
  
Cologne blinked again, saying nothing for the time, as Eiko  
grunted, and threw the massive tank back at Biiko.  
  
Biiko leapt over the hurled tank, firing another salvo of  
missiles at the apex of her leap. Unnoticed by Eiko, Akane slid to a  
halt, seeing the eight-ton tank swiftly descending towards her. Just  
before impact, Ukyou leapt in a low tackle and bore her to the  
ground only centimeters from the edge of the new crater.  
  
Ranma and Eiko regained their footing, scrambling backwards  
defensively, as Cologne stabbed her staff into the street before  
her, throwing up a defensive spray of rubble which detonated the  
missiles harmlessly.  
  
Eiko swallowed, unconsciously grabbing onto Ranma's arm as  
she watched Biiko pause in befuddlement. The armor-clad girl's face  
twisted from confusion to anger in a moment, as she cursed at the  
ancient Amazon, rubble still raining down about the ancient figure.  
"Not fair! Not fair using your weird little friends, Eiko!" Biiko  
heaved for breath, seething in rage, and was oblivious to the  
muffled explosion in the distance.  
  
Ranma turned swiftly in response to the sound, seeing the  
walls of a building down the street explode outwards to spray more  
rubble onto the road. People began streaming out of a wide, gaping  
hole in the wall, the crowd failing to keep level enough heads to  
not fight each other and evacuate in an orderly manner. A massive  
spider-tank moved about slowly above the crowd, outlined by the  
massive gap and occasionally knocking additional chunks of masonry  
free in its scan of the surroundings.  
  
A man emerged from the panic-stricken crowd for a brief  
moment, running a short distance towards the teenagers and yelling,  
"FLEE! The Hottentots are running amuck!" before disappearing into  
the rush of people.  
  
Biiko took advantage of the pair's confusion, sweeping down  
towards Eiko and Ranma while they were distracted, only to be  
deflected by a metallic blur striking her bracer. She somersaulted  
backwards to a more defensive position as she registered a  
projectile disrupting one of her suit's power systems. The girl's  
eyes widened in shock as she stumbled backwards to halt on the  
pavement several meters away, frowning at the implement wedged into  
the steel bracer of her armor. "What the..." Growling, she tore the  
spatula free, dropping it to the ground and turning towards the  
latest distraction.  
  
Akane stomped forward, a furious expression on her face, and  
snapped, "What do you think you're doing, beating up someone who  
can't protect himself!?"  
  
Ukyou nodded righteously, grabbing her large battle-spatula  
from her back and brandishing it menacingly. "If you think that you  
can beat up _my_ fiance, you've got another thing coming!"  
  
The shorter girl shot her a glance at that statement, but  
said nothing for the moment, instead taking another step towards  
Biiko. "It's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak, after  
all."  
  
Ranma stared at the pair blankly, along with Cologne and  
Eiko. "Um," he commented. "I can take care of myself, you know..."  
  
Eiko nodded, smiling at Ranma to give him encouragement  
before turning to watch the current debacle. Cologne sighed  
wearily, observing the proceedings dourly, and wishing that she  
could get Ranma's attention long enough to talk to him.  
  
Biiko took a step back as the two angry fiancees drew  
nearer, trying to ignore the short spray of sparks from the damaged  
armor followed by a writhing tendril of electricity. "What are you  
talking about?"  
  
As it occurred to her, Eiko turned back to Ranma, asking,  
"Why did that boy say that your fiancee was his?"  
  
Ranma groaned, shaking his head. "Oh, man," he lamented.  
"This is just as bad as Nerima!"  
  
***  
  
Shiko's hands clasped the edge of the cockpit as she peeked  
over the rim and down onto the street, watching the people below  
squabble. Frowning, she noticed that Eiko was standing next to some  
boy she'd never seen before. A new friend, maybe?  
  
Shaking her head, she waved over the side of the gyro-copter  
and shouted, "Eiko-chan!"  
  
The redhead and her pigtailed companion looked up, while the  
aged women next to them simply folded her arms across her chest and  
began to stare upwards darkly.  
  
Before Eiko could respond, Shiko added, "I've got lunch  
ready for you!" So saying, she waved a bento at the girl excitedly.  
The boy next to her just shook his head, spreading his arms in a  
helpless 'what next?' gesture.  
  
Shiko drew in her breath to add more, but paused as she  
heard a low rumbling noise, as a craft completely unlike the claw  
tanks, F-15Js, and spider-tanks drew near, an odd protrusion of  
metallic tentacles reaching towards her. The other girls on the  
gyro-copter panicked, Ume veering away sharply to try and evade  
while Mari's growling intensified, pedaling harder to provide enough  
power to escape.  
  
The tentacles darted forwards quickly, one of them nicking  
the rotors in their pursuit of Shiko. The blonde shrieked in terror  
as the gyro-copter violently rocked to one side from the rotor  
damage. "Eiko! Help me!" she cried out, as the cold steel  
protrusions grabbed her and bore her upwards. "Heeeeelp!!"  
  
***  
  
Ranma stared along with the other combatants on the street,  
slack-jawed. "What the..." he began, uncertainly. "That was weird."  
  
Eiko blinked in surprise. "Shiko?" she asked worriedly.  
"What..." The girl trailed off, looking at Ranma for support as he  
stared upwards.  
  
"What," he asked, pointing upwards, "is that?"  
  
The others turned to look, seeing a gigantic distortion in  
the clouds, vapor sweeping aside and parting to make way for the  
immense bulk of a spacecraft of some sort. It descended slowly, its  
bulk blotting out the sky as it's halo of flashing light from the  
SDF craft and the invaders battle intensified.  
  
Biiko said nothing for a long moment, simply gaping at the  
light-show until one thought managed to make itself known. "Shiko!"  
she gasped, slapping yet another button on the bracer of her power-  
armor and activating the self-repair feature. While the bracer wove  
itself shut quietly, Biiko stomped towards Ranma and Eiko, waving a  
finger beneath the redhead's nose in an admonishing manner. "You  
fools! Eiko, if you hadn't brought all your weird friends here to  
distract me, this never would have happened! I'll go save Shiko  
myself -- I'll save her and win her heart! Ha!"  
  
With those words, she gave a self-satisfied nod and launched  
herself skyward. Ignoring Ranma's weak gestures towards her, she  
activated the boosters on her power armor, and took flight, her  
laugh trailing her ascent.  
  
The pigtailed boy shook his head, sighing. "Now what?"  
  
Eiko stared as Biiko ascended past the recently stabilized  
gyro-copter, nearly causing it to crash again as her wake swept  
across it. "Shiko," Eiko breathed. More urgency returning to her  
voice, she turned to Ranma and insisted, "We have to save Shiko!"  
  
Ranma stared upwards, seeing Biiko vanish in the distance.  
"Well," he drawled. "That's going to be kind of tricky, isn't it?"  
  
***  
  
Agent D grumbled quietly, wishing that there were a way  
readily available to quiet the shrieking blonde. "Hey!" D exclaimed.  
"What's wrong? I'm taking you home!"  
  
Shiko shook her head violently, whipping tears across the  
craft's cabin. "I don't wanna go! I wanna be with Eiko!"  
  
D grumbled, thumbing the com-link active again. The perky  
green-haired girl from before answered, wincing at the exposure to  
Shiko's shrieking. "Er... I've gotten the princess and am bringing  
her back."  
  
Nodding quickly and cringing as the static briefly died  
down, enabling Shiko's voice to come across more clearly, the girl  
answered, "Understood!"  
  
Sighing, D closed the link, sparing a moment to eye the  
wailing girl before increasing the craft's pace slightly.  
  
***  
  
"Shiko..." Eiko collapsed to her knees, staring upwards at  
gargantuan craft, still-descending towards the city.  
  
Ranma scratched the back of his head, looking around for  
something to give him an idea. "Dang..." he muttered, not finding  
anything. Sighing, he looked up, as Akane and Ukyou drew near.  
Wincing, he said, "Uh... hi?"  
  
Akane opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by  
the spider-tank down the street finally smashing through the wall  
completely, dislodging the large, hand-painted, "Gravi-con!" sign  
above the aperture that crowds of people had escaped from mere  
moments prior.  
  
Ranma pointed at the tank as it scurried towards them,  
exclaiming, "Got it! Let's hijack that crawly-thing and have it take  
us up there!" The girls simply stared at Ranma in confusion for a  
long moment, while Cologne raised an eyebrow in a considering  
manner. Ranma nodded, more to reassure himself than anything else.  
"See," he began again, pointing upwards. "These things can fly. We  
just gotta get one, and make it take us up there!"  
  
Ukyou shrugged, and drew her battle-spatula, standing in the  
path of the still advancing machine. "Hey," she said, winking at  
Ranma. "If Ranchan thinks that it'll work, I trust him."  
  
Akane nodded after a moment joining Ukyou. She glanced at  
Ranma, her expression clearly stating, "We've got a lot to talk  
about once this is over."  
  
Eiko snapped herself out of her stupor and joined the other  
pair of girls, as the tank drew closer. "Right," she stated. "If  
Ranma thinks we can get up there and save Shiko, then I believe him  
too."  
  
The tank began to slow, seeming hesitant about confronting  
the determined trio. Eiko darted a few worried glances towards Ukyou  
before edging away uncomfortably. The Okonomiyaki chef was  
resolutely trying not to blush while failing to meet Eiko's worried  
glances. Akane, however, was trying -- not very successfully -- to  
keep from giggling at Ukyou, remembering when the chef had kissed  
Eiko earlier that day.  
  
Ranma shrugged, bounding forward along with Cologne and  
landing astride the vehicle. The three girls followed a moment  
later, Ukyou giving it a passing whack with her spatula, and  
yelling, "Up! Take us to your leader!"  
  
The boy groaned, tossing his jo to the ground, and managing  
to hide his look of surprise as the spider-tank actually began to  
rise.  
  
***  
  
Japan's Self Defense Forces Pilot Yamamoto Kobato swallowed,  
throwing his plane into a steep incline, hoping that he could  
momentarily rise above the combat and get his bearings. He patted  
the control console with one hand affectionately. "You'll see me  
through this one all right, won't you, Princess?"  
  
The plane gave no answer, but he smiled in gratitude anyway.  
He made a note in his head to learn the proper English word for  
'Princess' and have it painted on the plane when he made it back.  
  
The last time it had occurred to him, he had forgotten the  
spelling, and had the name of the plane -- his 'little princess' --  
shortened to the few English characters that he knew. 'Little'  
because of his own first name, and 'Princess' because she carried  
him to heights he would never be able to reach alone...  
  
He grinned, leveling out, preparing to reenter the fray.  
"You're holding up great, P-chan!" He whooped, diving back into the  
dogfight, before he noticed that he was out of fuel.  
  
***  
  
Ranma gritted his teeth, trying to convince himself that he  
knew what he was doing, while the spider-tank they had managed to  
semi-commandeer hurtled upwards, passing a startled and furious  
Daitokuji Biiko.  
  
The power-armor clad girl caught up with the vehicle's  
flight, latching onto a leg as the craft juked around a passing  
fighter plane, and rose above the giant ship as the larger craft  
continued its descent. Changing direction abruptly, the small flying  
vehicle darted across the surface of the much larger craft, passing  
a mere thirty meters above, as though it were searching for  
something.  
  
Ranma coughed weakly, gripping onto a handle-like protrusion  
tenaciously, while the three girls clung to him even more  
tenaciously. "Can't... breathe" he wheezed out, prompting a snort  
from Cologne, where she had driven her staff through the tank's hull  
and was clinging to it with a casual attitude.  
  
Deploring whichever kami had seen fit to consign him to such  
a fate, he rolled his eyes upward beseechingly, only to see an out-  
of control F-15J veering towards them unsteadily. He continued  
watching as the craft adjusted its course, aligning itself on a  
direct collision course with the small pod.  
  
"Oh, man," he gasped, releasing his grip and sending himself  
and all three girls rolling in a loose tumble to knock into Biiko as  
she laboriously tried to clamber up the side of the craft.  
  
The pilot activated the ejection seat before the impact, and  
a similar pod ejected from the tank. The five teens scattered to the  
gale-force winds, Cologne abandoning the craft moments before it  
slammed into the F-15J with a resolute 'thud,' instead of the  
deafening explosion all had expected.  
  
***  
  
Ranma found himself tumbling, and loosely attached to one  
shrieking girl, though he wasn't able to ascertain which one due to  
the violent and sudden motion. Grumbling to himself about the  
indignity of it all, he wrapped himself around the girl, quieting  
her struggles instantly, and braced himself for impact.  
  
Flying backwards, he idly tried to compare the situation to  
something safe, like leaping from a speeding train. He focused his  
vision forward, seeing the halted hulks of the F-15J and the spider-  
tank fall. A single, black projectile burst free of the debris,  
arcing in a long trajectory.  
  
Ranma tracked it distractedly, as all of his attention and  
skill was focussed on bracing for impact, and protecting the girl in  
his arms.  
  
He slammed into a wall -- harder than steel, but far more  
forgiving than he had expected -- with enough force to daze him,  
rattling his teeth and rendering him nearly unconscious. Belatedly,  
he raised one hand, catching the soft black projectile in one hand,  
eliciting a startled and nauseous, "Bwee!"  
  
The girl in his arms shifted, slipping from his grip and  
down to the ground, peering up at him worriedly. "Ranchan?"  
  
***  
  
Akane shrieked, wondering what was going to happen next, and  
grabbed for the nearest support as she broke free from the disaster  
area. She found soft but firm arms encircling her, and looked up to  
see Ranma -- no, a girl that _looked_ like Ranma -- holding her,  
looking ahead with a determined expression. "Hang on!" the girl  
shouted over the wind, whipping her body around to angle towards a  
swiftly approaching bulkhead feet-first. "This might not work very  
well."  
  
Swallowing nervously, Akane braced herself. "Uh-oh."  
  
***  
  
Biiko looked up, seeing a tangle of the combatants from the  
street all slam into her, knocking her free of her hard-won  
purchase, and sending her spinning free. She righted herself, and  
increased her altitude to evade an approaching barrier, wincing as  
something impacted with it forcefully enough to override even the  
sound-dampers built into her armor.  
  
Turning away from the distraction, she focused on a vaguely  
familiar building set amid the vast fields of protrusions. Weapons,  
communications... she could only guess at the their functions, but  
the anomaly of the building ahead was too interesting to pass up.  
  
She darted forward, once-again in control of her flight,  
peering at the almost Greek construction in confusion. "Hmm..." she  
mumbled, glimpsing a figure between the pillars.  
  
***  
  
Japan's Self Defense Forces Pilot Yamamoto Kobato stared at  
the ruins of his beloved craft as he drifted away on his parachute,  
unable to resist the urge to wipe away a tear. "P-chan," he  
whimpered, staring at the smoking wreckage of the plane.  
  
***  
  
"Ranchan? You okay?" Ukyou peered up at Ranma worriedly,  
seeing him suspended in the center the giant bowl-shaped depression  
he had created to shield her. She bit her lip, worriedly, seeing his  
dazed expression shift to a tired one, then watching his eyes drift  
closed.  
  
Grunting, she leapt up the three meters to the bottom of the  
bowl, grabbed his leg, unceremoniously yanking him free and catching  
him before jumping back down onto the plated deck below.  
  
She lay him down, wondering where on _earth_ the piglet that  
he had caught had came from. The animal squirmed free of Ranma's  
grip, and marched resolutely in a tight circle, confounding the  
okonomiyaki chef further as it dragged a chain of knotted clothing  
behind it.  
  
"Okay," Ukyou said. "This is starting to scare me. Ranchan?  
Wake up?" She patted him on the cheek a few times to rouse him.  
  
Shifting slightly, he murmured, "Aw... Tofu... sleep more...  
train later..." Slowly sitting up, he blinked at Ukyou. "Ucchan?"  
  
She nodded, beaming her best and brightest smile at him.  
"Hey, Ranchan! You okay?"  
  
He peered about, nodding dazedly. "Where's everyone else?"  
  
Ukyou shrugged, standing up and looking around. "I'm not  
sure... What should we do?"  
  
Ranma climbed to his feet slowly, wincing as he pulled  
himself upright. "Oww... Find Eiko and Akane, then find her friend,  
then get away."  
  
"Um... okay. Where should we start?"  
  
The boy grabbed the trailing article of clothing from its  
tangle around the piglet, and hefted it up to eye level. In a very  
solemn voice he stated, "I'm not sure I even want to know how you  
got here." Grunting at Ranma in annoyance, the piglet looked  
resolutely away, its eyes still seeming to spin dizzily. Ranma  
snorted, slinging P-chan over one shoulder. "Let's get some hot  
water, and get inside this thing."  
  
Ukyou nodded obediently, falling into step behind Ranma.  
  
***  
  
Unleashing a 'Kiyah!' Eiko struck the bulkhead with enough  
force to tear it wide open, leaving both herself and Akane  
unscathed. Stumbling once awkwardly, they come to rest in the middle  
of a large, abandoned corridor, both of them breathing heavily.  
  
Akane gasped for breath, wheezing, "That was... scary..."  
  
Eiko nodded, her eyes still wide. "Yeah, it was."  
  
"Can you put me down now?"  
  
Flushing nearly dark enough to match her hair, Eiko set the  
other girl down, while they caught their breath. "So," the redhead  
began, "how did you meet Ranma?"  
  
Akane groaned, frowning uneasily at the other girl. "I met  
him the day we were engaged. What about you?"  
  
Eiko shrugged, eyeing her theoretical competitor guardedly.  
"We met over a year ago, before he... left."  
  
Frown deepening, Akane asked, "Why did he leave?" She knew  
Ranma wasn't half the womanizer she claimed... was he?  
  
Eiko's eyes took on a pained tinge. "His father," she  
muttered, "told _my_ father that Ranma was... was... dead..."  
  
Akane winced, mulling things over. Had Ranma, then, not been  
fully over her when she had met him herself? "Oh," she said softly,  
considering things. "That... explains a lot..."  
  
The redhead smiled brightly, driving back the upset and the  
depression. "But he's back now."  
  
A twinge of pain assaulted Akane, an unfamiliar pinch near  
her heart. "Oh?" she said uncertainly. "What does that mean?"  
  
Eiko shrugged, taking a step forward, Akane falling in  
behind her. "I don't know yet. I hope he still wants me... I mean,  
he did come here for me, so that means something, right?" She shook  
her head, smiling softly. "Maybe... maybe things won't work out  
perfectly, but he's not dead, and I'd rather he was with someone  
else than... that..."  
  
Akane winced again, considering things. Did she have a  
chance? This, at least, was enough to make her reconsider. She knew  
_now_ that she wanted the chance, but it was certainly going to be  
harder...  
  
She sighed, smiling at Eiko warmly. At least Eiko was good-  
natured about it. "Well," Akane stated, peering around at the  
unfamiliar and alien design of the hallway. "Where should we start  
looking?"  
  
***  
  
Biiko grumbled, feeling the plate of... glass?... that  
separated her from Shiko. Her suit's visor could not identify the  
composition of the substance, but she expected that it would break  
easily enough.  
  
Nodding to herself, she hovered back a few steps, leveling  
her bracer at the window, and pressed the activation switch.  
  
And nothing happened.  
  
Blinking, she read a flashing notice on the edge of her  
visor warning her that she was out of ammunition. She reached behind  
her, to where the extra packs would be clipped to her armor with a  
shrug.  
  
They were missing.  
  
Biiko blinked, trying to twist and turn, to see behind her  
and where the clips should have been. "Argh!" she yelled, beating  
her fists ineffectually against the barrier. "Where the hell did  
they go?"  
  
A voice from above her dryly informed the frustrated girl,  
"It would appear as though Son-in-law has taken them from you."  
  
Biiko shrieked, batting herself about the head frantically,  
as Cologne nimbly leapt off of the armored girl's helmet. Heaving  
for breath, eyes wide in alarm, Biiko asked, "What?"  
  
Cologne smirked, shaking her head. "Son-in-law doubtless  
thought that you were being too childish in your behavior, and took  
away your toys."  
  
Biiko's eyes narrowed, and she pouted. "I am not childish."  
  
Sighing, Cologne jabbed at the barrier with her staff,  
causing it to detonate inwards. "Personally," she said in a  
conversational tone, shards of glass raining down behind her, "I  
don't think there's a real need for weapons like that. A stick or a  
bare hand seem to work just as well, wouldn't you say?"  
  
The armor-clad girl stared at the Amazon, dumbfounded, then  
sighed, and floated into the building, settling to the floor and  
marching towards Shiko. "Whatever," she muttered, shaking Shiko  
gently. Biiko frowned, calling, "Shiko? Are you alright? They didn't  
do anything... sexual... to you, did they?"  
  
The diminutive blonde yawned hugely, shaking her head. "Huh?  
What? Where am I?" She blinked at the armor-clad girl before her,  
and then the old woman that was staring at her with a patently bored  
expression. "Oh, now I remember... I cried myself to sleep."  
  
Biiko groaned, rolling her eyes. "Right. Well, let's steal  
one of their vehicles and escape."  
  
Cologne raised an eyebrow at that. "Can't fly down on your  
own?"  
  
The girl grabbed Shiko's wrist, beginning to tug the girl  
away. "Too risky," she snapped at the Amazon. "We should be safer in  
one of their craft."  
  
The old woman shrugged, following as Shiko began to prattle.  
"Where's Eiko? I want to see Eiko..."  
  
***  
  
Ranma shook his head, wincing slightly as the pain began to  
fray at his self-control. "That was some landing," he groaned,  
rubbing his shoulder. The pig dangling over his opposite shoulder  
made a non-committal grunt in response.  
  
Ukyou bit her lip again, then gestured towards the ruined  
remains of the F-15J and the spider-tank. "Well," she said  
uncertainly. "What do you need hot water for?"  
  
The boy muttered, saying nothing, and began to poke through  
the wreckage. After a moment he emerged from a particularly dense  
pile with a slightly worn -- and oddly familiar -- brass kettle in  
one hand. He stared at it dubiously, then shrugged, and looked Ukyou  
in the eye. "Can you turn around for a moment?"  
  
Ukyou turned around, uncertain, but trusting of Ranma. There  
was a splash and some muffled cursing, but she resisted the urge to  
look until she heard Ranma's voice, "Okay, you can look again."  
  
He looked incredibly weary, eyeing another boy speculatively  
and nodding to himself. Ukyou's eyes tracked to the other boy, and  
she rolled her eyes, muttering, "Of course. Ryouga."  
  
Ryouga glanced over towards her from his irritated glare at  
Ranma. "What?" he said, sounding hurt.  
  
Ranma waved a hand at them both dismissively. "We can fight  
later. Right now, we have to find our friends, and hopefully get off  
of this thing."  
  
Ukyou bit back her tongue, falling in step next to Ranma  
with Ryouga trailing just behind. After a moment, she asked, "Where  
did the little pig go?"  
  
The pigtailed boy's laugh -- echoed shortly by Ryouga's --  
contained little humor, and there was a highly strained note to it.  
"Dunno, Ucchan. He gets lost easily, I guess."  
  
Ryouga interjected, halting that line of conversation, "When  
did you two join the S.D.F.?"  
  
Ukyou snorted, shaking her head. "We didn't; we just ended  
up on this ship... But we're trying to find Akane, that girl and her  
friend, then escape."  
  
The lost-boy nodded knowingly, marching towards a vaguely  
door-like structure. "Akane's in danger and Ranma's too weak to save  
her. So... do we need to get inside?"  
  
Ranma muttered something under his breath, but bit it back,  
nodding. "Yeah, whatever. Now, break the door down and we'll get  
inside and rescue her. "  
  
***  
  
Eiko trotted forward, as she scanned around for some clue to  
lead her to the others -- or Shiko. "So," she said, wondering at the  
lack of any personnel in the corridor. "What next?"  
  
Akane skidded to a halt, pointing towards a glowing disk  
inset into the floor. "What do you suppose that is?" she asked, a  
faint frown creasing her face.  
  
The redhead blinked, scrambling to stop and backtrack to the  
alcove that Akane was indicating.  
  
The pair eyed the panel for a moment before nodding once at  
each other and stepping forward.  
  
Akane yelped briefly, startled, as it began to rise, bearing  
them with it. A flash of color and movement caught her aye, and she  
smirked at Eiko, struggling with the skirt of her uniform and  
momentarily glad that she was wearing a more sensible T-shirt and  
jeans.  
  
Eiko giggled in embarrassment, as an unseen breeze wafted  
her skirt upwards, nearly revealing her panties. Akane turned away  
studiously, leaving the pair back-to-back as the alien elevator  
ascended. The redhead muttered quietly, wrestling with her skirt for  
control. "You know," she commented to Akane, "the next time aliens  
attack, I'll wear jeans, too."  
  
Akane's grin widened, and she nodded. "Normally I don't wear  
things like this, but it's colder here than Tokyo, so..." she  
trailed off, kicking herself backwards and knocking Eiko sprawling  
behind her as the elevator reached its peak. "Eeep!" she finished,  
as a gigantic sword cleaved through the space that she had occupied  
only a moment prior.  
  
***  
  
Ranma stared down the corridor for a long moment, unmoving.  
Then he winced, shaking his head. "Do you hear that?" he asked,  
gesturing down the empty hallway.  
  
Ryouga shook his head, after exchanging a glance with Ukyou.  
"I don't hear anything. Say, Ranma? Where is Akane, anyway? I know  
you're too weak--"  
  
Ukyou whacked Ryouga upside the head with one fist. "Hey!"  
she hissed. "Don't you talk about my Ranchan that way."  
  
Ranma sighed, looking at both of them irately. "No," he  
stated. "I came here to try and fix some of the things Pops screwed  
up."  
  
Ryouga and Ukyou both shut up, the chef not able to meet  
Ranma's eyes. Ryouga shifted his weight from foot-to-foot uneasily,  
then shook his head. "Er... right. Well," he began, "what next?"  
  
The pigtailed boy shrugged, then pointed down the corridor.  
"I don't know exactly where were going, but I think I got an idea.  
Follow me." He turned and began to trot down the corridor, leaving  
Ukyou and Ryouga barely able to match his pace.  
  
"Oh, yeah, almost forgot," he said, almost as an  
afterthought, glancing back at the pair following him. "Duck."  
  
The trio ducked, sliding forward as a barrage of bright  
lights flashed overhead, searing the air where they had been and  
melting the bulkheads behind them. "Ack!" Ukyou squealed, mimicking  
Ranma's next motion as he rolled to the right, evading another laser  
beam, and then another as he hopped high and to the left again...  
  
***  
  
Biiko dragged Shiko behind her, darting her head quickly  
back and forth, searching for... searching for...  
  
Cologne sighed, wondering why she had chosen to follow this  
girl in particular. "You're lost, aren't you?"  
  
The armor-clad girl glared at Cologne for a moment, coming  
to a halt at a cross-shaped intersection. Smoothing her features  
back into a mask of control, she stated haughtily, "I am not lost."  
  
The Amazon sighed, nodding at Shiko as the young girl  
glanced between the two in confusion. "So you're just taking the  
scenic route, hmm?"  
  
Biiko scowled, grabbing Shiko's wrist and dragging the girl  
down yet another corridor. "I know what I'm doing," she huffed.  
  
***  
  
Eiko climbed to her feet, Akane slipping off the redhead's  
back and taking up a ready stance next to her. "Hey," said Eiko as  
she turned to face the gargantuan warrior in battle-bikini. "I  
recognize you!"  
  
Agent D grinned, hefting her sword. "I'm sworn to defeat you  
and protect the princess!"  
  
Akane could only stare for a long moment in befuddlement.  
"Um," she began uncertainly, "what princess?"  
  
D frowned, eyeing the two uncertainly, while Eiko prepared  
for battle. "What do you-- You mean... you didn't know?  
  
Eiko shook her head in negation, not lessening her ready  
posture. "I have no idea what you're talking about. We want Shiko."  
  
The agent-turned-armed-guard shrugged in a dismissive  
manner, her glance shifting between the two girls before she settled  
on Eiko. "Whatever," she said offhandedly, "neither of you are  
getting past me to the princess."  
  
Eiko grit her teeth, leaping above a sword-strike as it  
descended towards her, arcing over D's back, and elbowing the giant  
as she descended. Grunting in pain, D spun, smashing her sword  
towards Eiko again, as the redhead caught the blade between her  
hands, straining to keep the edge from striking her.  
  
Her grip began to slip, the slick metal working its way free  
of her hands, inexorably drawing down. The redhead snarled in  
determination, wishing she had thought to remove her bracers first  
-- but then the pressure was gone, leaving her holding the sword  
while the overly-bulky agent rolled away, colliding with a narrow  
railing with a painful sounding 'thump.'  
  
Akane scowled, reassuming a defensive posture, as Eiko  
flashed her a grateful smile and reversed the blade, gripping the  
hilt easily in both hands. "Thanks." The martial artist nodded once,  
eyes remaining trained on the giant woman as she climbed to her  
feet.  
  
"Hey," rumbled D, "that's not fair!" She scowled at the pair  
of girls, somehow producing another sword from her shield, and  
advancing on them again.  
  
"Neither is the way you ambushed us!" Eiko snapped, using  
her sword to deflect the giantess's blade as Akane slipped beneath  
her guard and delivered a powerful palm-strike to the massive woman.  
  
Wincing, D drew away, nearly unbalanced by the blow. "Hey!"  
she complained, lowering her sword momentarily and rubbing at a  
quickly growing bruise with her shield hand. "I promised to defend  
the princess with my life, and I'm going to do it!"  
  
Akane shrugged, commenting to Eiko, "She's strong but I  
don't think she's very skilled."  
  
Eiko nodded noncommittally, muttering, "Then again, we do  
outnumber her..."  
  
D fumed, producing another blade from somewhere, and tossing  
aside her shield. "Okay," she declared, "No going easy on you this  
time!"  
  
Akane blinked, as Eiko shoved the heavy blade into her  
hands, whispering, "Watch out, she's a lot stronger than she looks."  
The Tendo girl could only wince at the thought, as the gargantuan  
muscle-bound woman stomped towards them.  
  
"This can't be good," Akane observed, stepping to one side  
as Eiko moved the opposite direction.  
  
***  
  
Ranma ducked, coming to a quick halt. Not having enough time  
to duck, Ukyou tripped across him, falling to land in his lap, the  
pair of them then tripping Ryouga into a large steel door. Startled,  
the lost boy only had enough time to yell a single panicked,  
"Aaarg!" before barreling into the door and smashing it out of the  
way.  
  
The pigtailed boy blinked at the now-open door, and  
shrugged, while Ukyou dazedly peered about. "Ranchan?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Did you do that on purpose?"  
  
He nodded, still looking towards the dark doorway. "Yep."  
  
Ukyou flushed darkly, clinging to Ranma, and hugging him  
tightly. "You do love me!" she squealed.  
  
Ranma blinked again, struggling for breath. "Huh?" he  
wheezed. "I just made Ryouga smash into the door."  
  
The lost boy called back from the dim recesses ahead of  
them. "Ranma! We don't have time for you to play around with your  
fiancee. Why don't you move her off your lap, and hurry up?"  
  
Ranma snapped, "Because I _can't_, you moron. She weighs too  
much."  
  
Ukyou's smile lessened drastically, as she turned, loosing  
her hold -- but not leaving Ranma's lap -- to stare at him. "What?"  
  
The boy shrugged uncomfortably, looking away. "You weigh too  
much. I can't move you."  
  
Ryouga snorted, rolling his eyes. "Of course it's _her_  
fault; it's not like he was too _weak_ to move her," he muttered  
sourly.  
  
***  
  
Biiko turned yet another corner, wondering if her guidance  
system were failing her, and she was lost... but no, the monitor on  
her visor would tell her if she were crossing familiar territory.  
She sighed, glancing at the old woman easily keeping pace next to  
her. "So," she said, addressing Shiko as the blonde trotted next to  
her, "I don't suppose you would know the way out from here?"  
  
Shiko blinked twice, then shook her head, offering only a  
cute 'I'm sorry' expression. "Nope. I don't know the way out."  
  
Sighing, Biiko came to a halt, and consulted the map on her  
visor again. "Well," she grumbled. "What now?"  
  
Cologne snorted, "You could always ask your betters."  
  
"Elder, maybe, but not better." An inarticulate cry of rage  
and a loud 'smack!' rang out from the bowels of the ship, causing  
both Biiko and Cologne to pause before the argument could escalate.  
"Um," Biiko continued, unnerved. "Okay, how in the hells do we get  
out of here?"  
  
The Amazon elder nodded knowingly, brandishing her staff.  
"We take the path of most resistance."  
  
***  
  
Ryouga chuckled at Ranma, who was scowling irritably, and  
rubbing at a throbbing, red, handprint-shaped mark on the side of  
his face. "What the heck, Ucchan... what was that for?"  
  
The okonomiyaki chef sniffed disdainfully, remarking, "It's  
horribly rude of you to tell your cute fiancee that she's  
overweight."  
  
He groaned, rolling his eyes. "Great," he muttered, "now can  
you get off me so that I can stand up?"  
  
Ukyou flushed darkly, but stood, rubbing at her sore hand  
when the pigtailed boy wasn't looking. He sighed, clambering through  
the opening and into the darkness. "Hey!" he said after a moment.  
"Ryouga!? Do you know what this stuff is?"  
  
Ukyou frowned, climbing into the darkness after the pair,  
and waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. Ryouga's  
voice rumbled from near the dimly illuminated entryway. "Um... no?"  
  
"Oh man... look." With that, Ranma's body erupted with fire,  
blue tongues of ki-flame flaring outwards and illuminating the pair  
of panties that Ryouga was holding to his face.  
  
The lost boy blinked, turning the article over several times  
before comprehension struck him like a bolt of lighting. His eyes  
widened suddenly, turning eerily blank as he fell stiff on the  
floor, blood trickling freely from his nose.  
  
Ukyou stared around, first in shock at Ranma, who had never  
presented as much focus in his aura, then at the mounds of feminine  
undergarments littering the room. "Dang," she muttered, glancing  
around and shivering. "It's all girls' stuff..."  
  
Ranma nodded absently, peering at the dim recesses, and  
grinning as he found another door. "Great," he muttered, eyeing the  
door. After prodding it for a few moments, he nodded to himself  
again, and walked back to Ryouga. "Wake up, Ryouga. We need you to  
open another door."  
  
The lost boy roused slowly at the mention of his name, only  
to pass out again at the sight of the panties he still clutched in  
his hand. Groaning, Ranma set about untying one of the lost boy's  
bandanas. Ukyou watched attentively, as the pig-tailed boy re-tied  
the bandana over Ryouga's eyes. "Wake up!"  
  
Ryouga woke with a start, turning his head about in alarm.  
"Arg!" he said, a panicked edge to his voice, "I can't see!"  
  
Ranma exchanged a pained glance with Ukyou, before taking a  
step back. "It's okay, Ryouga. Just come here and open a door for  
us." Nodding obediently, the lost boy stumbled around at random  
until Ukyou led him to the door.  
  
Making sure Ryouga was facing the right way, Ranma removed  
the bandana, commanding, "Knock it down, Ryouga."  
  
Ryouga pulled back his hand and slammed a single finger into  
the door, reducing it to a hail of shrapnel as Ranma and Ukyou  
ducked behind him. The lost boy nodded in a self-satisfied manner,  
oblivious to the jagged pieces of metal as they rebounded from his  
hardened skin harmlessly.  
  
Ranma slipped past the lost boy, rubbing at his cheek again  
absently as he peered around. Ryouga trundled after him, frowning.  
"What now?" the lost boy asked, absently retying his bandanas.  
  
"Well," Ranma stated, pointing towards a glowing disk on the  
floor. "That looks good."  
  
Ryouga and Ukyou exchanged a puzzled glance, following the  
pigtailed martial artist as he dashed towards the glowing  
impression.  
  
***  
  
Akane stumbled away, one hand sliding from the handle to the  
unsharpened back of the blade instinctively to improve her chances.  
"Ugh," she grunted, straining against the immensely powerful  
swordswoman. Slowly, she felt her footing begin to give way, and  
edged back. Only the fact that D was primarily occupied with Eiko,  
who seemed able to match her blow for blow had saved her, so far.  
  
Eiko struck quickly, each attack being deflected by D's  
speed and skill. "Well," the redhead grunted, launching a kick into  
D's ribcage between exchanges, "I think we can win this!"  
  
Akane nodded dubiously, wishing she didn't have to rely on  
the weapon, but not trusting her bare hands against the woman's  
brute strength and naked steel. Slipping back, she overbalanced, one  
foot going behind her and finding... no support. Her eyes widened as  
she flailed around blindly, dropping the sword, and managed a single  
startled shriek before she disappeared from sight.  
  
Eiko's eyes widened in alarm, and she suddenly found herself  
harried, trying to evade both swords at once, without one of her  
own. She feinted a leap to one side, hoping to buy some time, and  
dove beneath the woman's legs, rolling onto her back and landing a  
vicious kick to the inside of D's thigh as she tumbled away.  
  
D bellowed in pain and wheeled about, spinning to bring both  
swords to bear on the redhead -- but Eiko wasn't there. She dashed  
around to remain behind D, tagging her kidney with an elbow smash  
before the giantess spun, a forearm crashing into her and sending  
her tumbling to land near the elevator.  
  
She whimpered, realizing that as hard as Biiko had hit her,  
the alien had hit her _much_ harder. Staggering to her feet, she  
squared off again, ready to continue the fight. "I'm not going to  
let you kidnap Shiko," she declared resolutely.  
  
D scowled, swinging the swords at Eiko in a pair of diagonal  
slashes. "And we'll never let you take the princess from us!" she  
retorted.  
  
Eiko staggered back, the sword's edges missing her narrowly,  
but slashing through her flimsy clothing easily. "Gaaah!" she  
sputtered, windmilling at the edge of the elevator as she belatedly  
noticed the tear in her clothing that ran all the way from the hem,  
and clear through to... nothing.  
  
A pair of hands supported her from behind at the last  
moment, and an irate voice announced, "Okay, now I'm angry." Eiko  
flushed, looking down at the cut in her skirt that lay it open from  
the waistband on.  
  
She spun, seeing -- of all people -- Ranma standing behind  
her, leaning in an odd stance to support her before shifting his  
position back to a more normal one.  
  
Behind him was a boy she didn't recognize, wearing a hot-  
pink bandana, and the boy from that morning, looking stunned and  
carrying Akane in his arms. Akane looked equally stunned, and Eiko  
had to admit that they made a cute couple, with Akane clinging to  
the okonomiyaki chef so tightly.  
  
Ranma stepped forward, joined shortly by the bandana-clad  
boy. The new boy nodded, eyeing D distastefully before declaring,  
"For your crimes against Akane-san, I can never forgive you!"  
  
Snorting in response, Ranma pointed the boy towards the  
discarded sword. "That's right, Ryouga. Anyway, you don't mess with  
_my_ friends and get away with it." Ryouga glanced at Ranma  
uncertainly, then nodded, the pair breaking apart to encircle D and  
attack from both sides.  
  
D growled, "I will halt you at all costs!"  
  
Ranma snorted, easily ducking a blow and eyeing D carefully.  
Ryouga deflected an incoming strike with some effort -- snatching up  
the discarded sword at the last moment -- but he did deflect it,  
leaving the pair of fighters momentarily unbalanced. Ranma charged  
behind D before she could completely rebalance, and struck her back,  
the air snapping with the speed of the blows as he struck too  
quickly for the girls to count the number or blows. The pigtailed  
boy gave a self-satisfied nod and stepped away, smirking.  
  
Ryouga sweated, wondering how long he could hold D's swords  
at bay as her swords held against his, the edges grinding together  
slowly. He clenched his eyes shut, straining to keep the sharp  
death-dealing implements away from himself, grunting and pouring as  
much strength as he could gather, halting the inevitable strike.  
"Ranma," he grunted, feeling his strength ready to give out. "I  
can't... hold her... back... long..."  
  
The pigtailed boy gave an annoyed sigh, rubbing at the  
discolored patch on his check. "She can't move, Ryouga. I paralyzed  
her."  
  
The girls blinked, as Ryouga slowly, uncertainly, and with  
no small show of embarrassment, stepped back. D worked her jaw,  
trembling at her inability to move, while the swords remained in the  
same position.  
  
Ranma grinned, looking around. "So," he said casually, as  
Ryouga dropped the sword, "where next?"  
  
"Um," Akane said after a moment. "I'd like to be set down  
now."  
  
***  
  
Shiko and Biiko dazedly wandered behind the amazon as she  
destroyed the obstacles before her with casual grace, smashing  
through metal bulkheads and alloy barriers in a straight line.  
  
She paused after coming across an oddly shaped room. Peering  
about, she asked, "What's this, now?"  
  
Biiko stumbled in, making sure not to trip over the rubble  
that lay scattered about, and eyed the room. "It looks like... an  
elevator."  
  
Cologne nodded knowingly. "I see, I see... and can you make  
it take us where we want to go?"  
  
The girl stared at the old woman blankly, while Shiko simply  
observed the pair. Shrugging, Biiko turned to study what looked like  
a control panel of some sort. "Probably..."  
  
***  
  
Captain Napolipolita raised an eyebrow as a sudden explosion  
reduced the elevator door to shrapnel.  
  
She was left with a view of a gaggle of teens in various  
states of irritation. The redheaded girl with the indecently torn  
skirt stepped forward first, her face carrying mixed messages of  
worry and anger. "Hey!" she shouted. "Give Shiko back to us!"  
  
Standing next to her, a thin, nearly invisible blue aura  
visible about him, a pigtailed boy stepped forward, offering his  
silent support. He was joined by another pair of boys, once with a  
hot-pink bandana, and another with a massive, unfriendly looking  
spatula. Behind them was another girl, this one with short, bluish-  
black hair, glancing at the pig-tailed boy briefly and emulating his  
stance.  
  
Swallowing, the captain considered her sidearm, frowning. "I  
can't do that..." she complained, eyes nervously darting between the  
opposition, while the bridge crew stared in apprehension.  
Straightening herself to her full height, the captain proclaimed,  
"She is the Fourth Princess of the Fifth Queen of the Lepton Kingdom  
of Alpha Cygni. We will never abandon her!"  
  
Eiko shook her head angrily, complaining, "Maybe she is, but  
most importantly, she's _my_ friend! I'm not going to let you just  
take her away!" She nodded once in affirmation, wiping at a stray  
tear.  
  
The captain edged away a step, shaking her head before  
slumping to the floor, kneeling awkwardly. "Arg..." she muttered,  
clutching weakly at her side. "Can't... fight... need..." She raised  
her head slightly, a frown twisting her visage. "Need..." As her  
voice dropped to a whisper, the teens crept closer, trying to make  
out her words. Nearly whimpering, Captain Napolipolita managed, "...  
booze..."  
  
Ranma opened his mouth to say something, but caught himself,  
and spun towards the elevator as it whirred to life. "Uh-oh," he  
muttered, as D reached the top of the lift, snarling angrily. Eiko  
winced, as the mammoth warrior stomped forward heavily, seething in  
rage and snarling incoherently. The pig-tailed boy shifted his  
position, preparing to dodge. "Guess her pressure points are  
different from humans. That should have held her for a few hours."  
  
The redhead nodded, spinning again as the central elevator  
in the control room activated, bearing Biiko and her traveling  
companions into the bridge. The girl's voice carried, augmented by  
her power armor, "Well this isn't the right way either!"  
  
The old woman next to her shook her head, pointing with her  
staff. "No, I'd say it worked."  
  
Shiko broke away from Biiko, dashing towards Eiko. "Eiko-  
chan! I found you!" she cheered.  
  
Eiko leapt forward, calling out, "Shiko!"  
  
Ranma shrugged, sparing only a glance as she darted away,  
and he squared off against his much larger adversary. Ryouga  
solemnly removed a bandana, spinning it in one hand and reducing it  
to a hot-pink blur before hurling it at D.  
  
Everyone froze, wondering what the hot-pink projectile was,  
as D batted it out of the way. It landed on the deck at her feet.  
Soft, frilly lace trim, and hot-pink decorated with occasional blue  
hearts. It was a pair of panties.  
  
Ukyou snorted, rolling her eyes. "Figures," she muttered  
under her breath, as Ryouga goggled in embarrassment.  
  
The lost boy turned to Ranma, his features paling nearly  
white. "Ranma," he squeaked out. "Did I have... _that_... tied  
around my head the entire time?"  
  
Grimacing, Ranma nodded. "Yeah..."  
  
The lost boy nodded solemnly, "I see," and promptly fell  
over backwards, rolling down the stairs to come to a halt near Eiko,  
as she swept Shiko into her arms and dove for cover. Biiko belatedly  
joined them, and after a moment of hesitation, Cologne sent Ryouga  
rolling behind another bit of cover, standing idly to watch what  
would happen next.  
  
Ranma nodded, gesturing Akane and Ukyou back. "Be careful,"  
he warned.  
  
Akane bit her tongue, simply nodding, and mirroring Ranma's  
stance, while Ukyou nodded, readying her battle spatula.  
  
Surveying her options and finding them lacking, D dove for  
the captain, snatching up her sidearm and turning to face the teens.  
Ranma, Ukyou, and Akane shared a confused blink before springing  
away and diving for cover themselves.  
  
The ailing captain clung to the agent weakly, trying to  
dissuade her from shooting blindly. "Careful!" she shrieked. "You'll  
hit the princess!"  
  
Ignoring the captain, D grunted, firing recklessly.  
  
Akane huddled to the port side, cowering next to Biiko,  
Shiko, and the redhead, while Ranma and Ukyou joined the prone  
Ryouga and Cologne. The ancient Amazon regarded Ranma inscrutably.  
"Well?" she asked. "I hope you have some sort of plan?"  
  
Ranma winced as a hail of energy beams lanced through the  
floor nearby, narrowly missing him, and tearing long molten gouges  
in the floor. "Kinda," he said after a moment. Waving towards the  
group of girls, he yelled, "Why don't you shoot back at them?"  
  
Biiko glared, but settled for a rude gesture in lieu of  
speaking.  
  
Shaking his head, Ranma turned his attention towards Akane,  
shouting, "Catch this!"  
  
Akane nodded, raising her hands to catch a small black box  
wrapped in yellow-and-black tape and large, garish warning labels.  
Biiko stared at it, snatching it from the other girl's hands and  
frantically slapping it into her wrist bracer. Grinning viciously,  
she popped up, firing a salvo of small missiles in retaliation of  
the energy beams.  
  
D squawked in terror, avoiding being hit directly, but  
singed by the explosions regardless. The captain took the brunt of  
the attack, and was flung backwards into a smoke and debris filled  
cloud.  
  
Biiko grinned, offering Ranma a begrudgingly respectful nod  
before turning to glare further at the singed alien. Emerging from  
the smoking rubble, and cackling like some hell-borne demon, the  
captain hauled a large assault weapon into place, kicking the brake  
and leveling the multitude of barrels towards the teens.  
  
Ranma groaned, ducking behind his source of cover again.  
"This day just keeps getting better," he remarked bitterly.  
  
Cologne shrugged in a consolatory manner. "I've had worse."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"No, not really."  
  
"Great," he deadpanned.  
  
Ukyou latched onto him, whimpering, "Ranchan! I'm scared!"  
  
He sighed, rolling his eyes beseechingly again. "What next?"  
  
Eiko glanced over, seeing Ranma and his other friends  
huddling for safety. Biiko was holding herself tightly to the  
ground, having blanched after looking down the many barrels of the  
engine of destruction that was even then tearing apart the bridge.  
Shiko made a frightened noise, and Eiko held her close, preparing to  
shield the little blonde with her own body, should it become  
necessary.  
  
The fire tapered off, after one central column of  
instrumentation was destroyed, and a faint, "Oops," echoed about the  
suddenly quiet control room.  
  
Ranma sighed, trying to disentangle himself from Ukyou.  
"C'mon, Ucchan, I have a feeling we should move." Seeing him eye  
Ryouga, Cologne nodded and prodded the boy with her staff.  
  
Ukyou let go of Ranma unsteadily, as the ship gave an  
alarming lurch and shudder, followed by the activation of a  
shrieking alarm system. The two groups of martial artists poked  
their heads up over the control panels to look, only to see a  
flustered looking D trying to console a wailing captain.  
  
Ranma groaned, looking out the front of the bridge's wide  
windows. "Oh look," he commented dryly, "we're going to crash."  
  
The boy shook his head, bracing himself near a console  
beneath a bulkhead, and gesturing the others near. They crowded  
around bracing themselves in similar positions. Eiko squeezed next  
to Ranma, Shiko in her lap, while Ukyou claimed the space on the  
opposite side of Ranma.  
  
Ryouga sat next to Ukyou dazedly. Biiko wedged him into  
place firmly, before sitting next him. "You'll protect me, right?"  
she asked. He blinked, unable to do much more than goggle and nod at  
the scantily clad girl.  
  
Akane stumbled, sprawling loosely across Ranma and Ukyou's  
laps, staying there when Ukyou grabbed her wrist and tried to nod  
reassuringly.  
  
The craft began to vibrate violently, so Ranma turned to  
Biiko, shouting to be heard across the low -- but building -- roar,  
"Why don't you just fly away?"  
  
Biiko scowled, then pointed towards Shiko, curled up in  
Eiko's lap and seemingly unalarmed. Ranma shrugged, bracing himself  
again, while Cologne subtly found a spot near Eiko and braced  
herself as well.  
  
Ranma closed his eyes, preparing to take yet another impact.  
"Too many," he muttered under his breath. "Too many for one day."  
  
Eiko turned to face him suddenly, and yelled over another  
roaring explosion that sent the deck angling sharply, "Ranma?"  
  
He nodded briskly, still wincing at the remembered pain from  
the last impact. "Yeah?"  
  
Staring him in the eye, she yelled, "Thank you for coming  
after me, Ranma."  
  
He nodded again, unable to resist smiling. "Glad to help!"  
  
Flushing slightly, and shifting from her braced position,  
Eiko planted a kiss firmly on his cheek before settling down to  
await the impact again.  
  
Akane and Ukyou's eyes widened as they stared, while Ranma  
simply reddened, stunned.  
  
***  
  
Eiko skipped towards her house, lighthearted. Her clothing  
was signed, torn, and her skirt was torn open to the point of  
indecency, but she wasn't going to let it get her down.  
  
She hummed lightly, traipsing through the doorway. "I'm  
home!" she called out.  
  
Her mother blinked, adjusting her spectacles and taking in  
the various signs that her daughter had been in battle recently.  
"Oh?" she said, taking in her daughter's condition. "How was your  
day?"  
  
The redhead giggled, saying nothing and dashing upstairs to  
the shower. Her mother frowned crossly, setting aside a laundry  
basket with a blue-and-red costume. "Now I'm worried..." she  
muttered, making a note to discuss it with her husband.  
  
Safely ensconced in the cleansing warmth of the shower, Eiko  
smiled again, and whispered, "Today was great."  
  
***  
  
Ranma limped towards the ruined remnants of what he had  
dubbed 'the ugly yellow building,' using a new staff and shaking his  
head wearily. Tofu looked up from the corner of the street, grinning  
as he saw Ranma approaching, and largely intact.  
  
"Ranma! How was everything?"  
  
The boy smiled widely trying to ignore the trio of red,  
handprint shaped marks on his face. "Pretty good so far," he  
managed.  
  
Tofu shook his head, looking towards the sunset, oddly  
offset by the massive bulk of the alien warship above them, balanced  
on the central spire of Graviton City. Tofu sighed, then offered a  
hand to Ranma. "I know you've got your own plans, but I found a  
place, if you're looking.  
  
Ranma nodded hesitantly. "Might be good to find a place to  
stay... what do I have to pay you?"  
  
The doctor began walking down the street, Ranma trailing  
him. "Well, I figure you can help me set up my sand garden, and  
chores around the clinic..." After a moment, he added, "And I think  
you could probably use living around someone to patch you up, hmm?"  
  
[End Chapter Three]  
  
------------------  
Author's Notes:  
5/11/01 -- pre-reader draft.  
5/14/01 -- secondary draft. Removed the completed Grand  
Unification Theory due to its irrelevance. In this story.  
5/20/01 -- Tentative final.  
  
Thanks to all of the pre-readers who helped with this  
project: Nathan Shuker, Bjorn Christianson, Donald Mc, and last --  
but not least -- Corwin, and Ginrai.  
  
And I shouldn't go on without thanking the real source of  
inspiration... So thanks to my muse, Rouge-hime, because this would  
never have happened without her. 


End file.
